


Dead She Beats My Heart

by feartheViolet



Series: Takamori: Unlimited AU Works [2]
Category: HoloEN, Hololive, Virtual Streamer Animated Characters
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Denial of Feelings, F/F, Flashbacks, Fluff and Angst, Miscommunication, Music, Singing, Slow Burn, Takamori
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-14 17:29:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 45,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28549401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/feartheViolet/pseuds/feartheViolet
Summary: It’s been 5 years since Takanashi Kiara has last been to Japan. Looking to start anew, she works to climb the corporate ladder in her job at a fast-food restaurant. However, her first day at work was a lot more stressful than she'd expected. Looking to unwind, she considers music. It was then when she heard a familiar voice singing as the voice of a band. It was the girl who broke her heart. Her first love and source of painful memories from all those years ago. Mori Calliope.Will their love be rekindled, or will it turn to ash? Just how much of Mori Calliope is an act and will the embers of the past melt her cold, dead heart? Find out as Takanashi Kiara relives her journey with the lead singer of the Shinigamis, in this Takamori Band AU. Screams, tears, and broken glass bottles. Can the fire in her heart burn down the walls of the girl playing god?
Relationships: Mori Calliope/Takanashi Kiara
Series: Takamori: Unlimited AU Works [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2091660
Comments: 89
Kudos: 429





	1. Dead She Beats My Heart

The sounds of plane engines roaring fills the scene as a shadow darkens the runway at Narita International Airport. From the ground one could hear the slow fading as the turbines start to power down and the landing gear of the flying machine pops out. It was a good day to fly that morning as clouds were barely present and the weather was as perfect as can be. With no complications, the plane flying from Australia lands successfully and right on schedule. One by one each passenger exits the plane and proceeds to head into the 4-star airport. One passenger in particular stands again on Japanese soil after quite some time.

A woman with bright, orange hair containing hints of teal at the same height as her neck, who appears to be someone around their mid-twenties, wearing skinny jeans, a white, long-sleeved shirt topped with an orange and blue women’s vest, complimented by her orange beret accentuated by a black ribbon with a repeating star pattern wrapping around it, can be seen dragging a bright orange suitcase behind her.

“KIKERIKIII~!!!” Takanashi Kiara greets Japan with an outgoing welcome, to the looks of a few passerby that turn their heads to look at the bright-haired girl. “It’s been sooooo long.” She says to no one in particular as she scans her immediate surroundings. It’s been 5 whole years since Kiara has last been to Japan. Back then she was only in the country for a year because of a business trip her family went on that she managed to beg her way into letting her come. For most of her life the girl has lived in Australia in a comfortable home with her family and cats. Not that there’s anything wrong with her cats, and her family too I suppose, but Japan has always been a place that fascinated Kiara to the point that she even speaks the language fluently.

After sitting down on one of the benches for a bit, adjusting her phone’s time-zone settings and making some quick arrangements, Kiara moves across the airport grounds and exits the building. The temperature of the air on her skin immediately indicative of the bright sun high in the sky. Some would call mornings evil and the most sinister thing imaginable, but the bright-haired girl has never been one to curse the sun and reject the opportunities of each new day it brings. Gotta take life day by day and keep pushing forward after all, right? And so, the young upstart makes her way to JR Narita Express to catch the 1-hour ride to the big city. After which she would take a cab headed to her new place, starting her ambitious journey to start the greatest fast-food chain in the world.

As the digital clock on her phone ticks to reveal the time 8:00 am, a cab can be heard making its way across the asphalt road near the station she dropped at. Kiara calls the cab over and confirms that she’s the passenger who booked a ride. There was the usual interaction where the Japanese cab driver attempted to communicate in English for a few seconds until Kiara interjected with fluent Japanese and surprised the innocent man. Other than that, the ride was smooth and had no complications, reaching their destination in less than half an hour. 

Exiting the cab and turning to face her destination, the foreign girl looks up and eyes the apartment complex she’ll be staying with for a considerable amount of time. Thankfully, her parents’ previous travels gave her connections and so the process of getting her own place was a lot simpler and faster than it would’ve been if she truly had to start from scratch. She was actually very lucky because this complex was one of two similar places that she could’ve ended up in that were both relatively close to where she wanted to start to work at. The other place being just a short walk away on the same side of the street.

For the rest of the day, Kiara used her time to unpack her things and get settled in her new apartment. The place wasn’t anything too special. It had a sizable living room with a couch and a nice enough television in the central area and a usable kitchen to the right with a bedroom and a bathroom in the two rooms to the left. There was definitely some empty space where one could put some extra furniture, but the main highlight of the place was the door leading to the balcony on the wall furthest from the door. A bird’s-eye view 4 stories high, allowing one to gaze at the marvelous cityscape that is the Tokyo skyline in the twilight. The aspiring Tenchou just gazes at the sight for a dozen seconds until she realized she needed to make an important call.

“Hey mom, hey dad. Sorry it took a while for me to call you folks back.” The starry-eyed girl says into her phone’s mic. “Things went well. The flight was smooth and the ride on the train wasn’t all that bad, actually.” She then chuckles at a joke told by the other side. “No, really, I’m fine. I just finished unpacking. You don’t need to worry about me. I can take care of myself.” She waits for a response. “Seriously! I didn’t get lost this time! I’m not the same as 5 years ago! You two know that! Hmph.” She pouts, and then remembers the time. “Ah, sorry about this but I have to cut it short. The thing starts tonight.” She turns back to look inside. “No, I’m not overworking myself. I’m still full of energy!” She pumps out her fist towards the sky, even though no one can see. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. Be safe. Gotta go, I love you!” And she ends the call. Preparing to head right out to start on her ambitions.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

“BAAHH!!!” Grunts an exhausted Kiara. “Why was everyone so-” She cuts herself off. “So…” She removes her hat. “SO……” She raises it high. “SO INCOMPETENT!!!” The poor hat gets smashed to the tiled floor of the restaurant staff room, barely making a thud as it’s too soft to properly use as ground pounder.

“Come on, Kiara. Don’t be too hard on them.” Says a male voice sitting at the other side of the staff room table. “Not everyone is as motivated as you to work at one of these places.” He adds, pulling out his phone and plugging in a set of earphones.

“That’s not the point Kokoro!” The frustrated girl fires back. “They’re so slow, they barely know how to handle a fryer, they can’t remember the recipe, and I’m the one that has to fix their mistakes!” She fumes. “How am I supposed to climb the ranks if THIS is what I’m working with!?” She leans forward to pick up her hat. Poor hat never did anything wrong.

“Relax girl. It’s just the first day. Hell, you moved tonight as if you already worked this place for 5 years. I’m sure upper management will see your skills in no time.” The chill dude says as he leans back on his chair and places both legs on the table. Kiara about to scold him but instead he stops her before she can speak. “Chill. We’re the two who have to lock up this joint tonight anyway. Manager won’t know.” He taps on his phone, looking like he’s shuffling through a playlist.

“I suppose you’re right…” Kiara sighs and lowers her temper. Tonight was her first night working at KF[C-opyright] and Kokoro has apparently been working here for 3 whole months. Maybe she should take a senior’s advice, she ponders. She contemplated thanking the senior, but it seems he’s busy bobbing his head from side-to-side and waving his arms with no care in the world. “What are you even listening to?”

“Hmm?” He pulls out an earphone. “Oh, this?” He points to his phone. “Just a little something that’s gonna rock the world.” Kiara raises an eyebrow to that. “Alright, I give.” He pulls out the second earphone. “It’s the debut song of the Shinigamis. They’re the best band in the world right now. Sensei killed it with that rap. And before you ask, Sensei is what we call the lead singer. She’s super talented.” He makes a jazz hands gesture. “Actually, you know what…” He rubs his chin, contemplating. “Why don’t you listen to her? Who knows, it might relieve some stress.” Kokoro suggests. “I need to use the washroom anyway. You can never be too sure if there’s secretly 7 ninja assassins that are out to get you when you can’t hear them.”

“As much as I would normally love to disagree with you, that actually doesn’t sound like a bad idea.” Takanashi Kiara liked music, and she isn’t someone who just shuts down other genres because she never gave them a chance. She didn’t know why, but when he mentioned rap, she had an unusually curious reaction. Seeing Kiara actually be open to the idea, Kokoro slides the phone across the table and proceeds to head out. Kiara picks it up, unplugging the earphones in case someone calls her, and reads the title of the song. “失礼しますが、RIP♡?” She remembers she’s in Japan and remembers that, of course, some songs would be in Japanese. She plays the song, not even noticing the girl on the album cover. https://youtu.be/5y3xh8gs24c The song starts out with a girl’s voice thanking her fans. Apparently for watching a livestream. Kiara swore she’s heard this voice before until-

 _“Fuck it”_ It’s her.

_“Modern-day killers really must hate fun  
More often, people takin' lives rockin' knives and guns  
The real murder connoisseurs in the ruins of hell  
Got used to luring the audience with moe that sells, 'cause  
To my surprise, snatching' lives とりあえず禁止  
Nice try, stoppin' the motherfuckin' Da Vinci  
Of human erasure, can't stop the pace, sir  
Make sure whеn "standing off" my rhymes slay first”_

Looking closely at the album cover, Kiara curses herself that she didn’t recognize the girl in the stylized artwork. A million thoughts running through her head as she recalls scenes she subconsciously tried to forget. This is her, right? It must be. That voice. Those words. Words she saw being written 5 years ago. It’s gotta be her. If so, this is who she is now? She should be happy for her, right? What’s this tightening in her chest? Why is the screen getting blurry? Wait, are those tears? Her head runs at a mile a minute as a pain she thought she forgot suddenly comes assaulting her heart.

_“If you take my advice, you'll be killed by what'cha don't know!  
But the other saying that I like so much more  
Is along the lines of "you reap what you fuckin' SEISO"  
Gotta know, ain’t it so, could ya let go of your soul for me?  
すごいDIE好き〜  
I'm not asking for much: do me a favor and die?  
ごめん、失礼しますが死んでください♡〜”_

“HELLOOOOOOO!?!?” A voice calls from the counter. Quickly pausing the song, wiping her tears, and putting on her service face, Takanashi Kiara moves to the counter to remind the customer what time it currently was, because Kokoro apparently didn’t put up the ‘CLOSED’ sign.

“Excuse me, ma’am. I’m sorry but we’re closed for the ni-” Kiara is cut off as all breath escapes her. There she was. Tall, staring her down, in a black leather jacket and ripped jeans, a portable keyboard hung over her shoulders, and sporting a pair of black shades. “Calli?” Kiara asks the woman.

“Dammit, where the fuck is Kokoro when you-” The woman cuts herself off. “Kuso-” She stops again. “K-Kiara?” She lifts her shades and reveals two entrancing dark pink eyes. “What are you doing he-” She never gets to finish.

“Hey Sensei! Sorry, had to take a piss. What’s going on with-” Kokoro stumbles upon the scene. Absolute silence fell as they all just stood there for a moment. “Told you she was that good.” He finger-guns towards Kiara while clicking his tongue twice. “And damn are you lucky, you even got to meet her tonight!” He reaches up and pats the taller girl on the back. "I got us a new fan, Sensei! Look at her, she’s absolutely starstruck!”

Takanashi Kiara was not, in fact, starstruck. There she was, right there. Standing in front of her as if nothing had changed after 5 whole years. Her first love, her first heartbreak. The girl who pushed her heart off a cliff. Mori Calliope.

“Now’s not the time, Kokoro.” Mori softly says. She, too, remembering a time long since passed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the support on my first Takamori work, CoffeeMori! Because of it I was motivated to write another AU fic with this pairing. I’ve had the idea for this setting ever since I finished publishing my first work, but recent conversations have convinced me to turn it into what I plan for it to be.
> 
> Once again this will be an AU wherein the characters of Takamori are humans in the real world. I will be writing their characters with this in mind and I in no way mean to insinuate that what’s written here is how the people behind the characters truly act. I give this warning now because, unlike my first work, I intend to make this one heavy, so go read my other work if you want exclusively fluff, but I still hope you’ll stick around with this one because this is gonna be a lot longer than just a simple one-shot.


	2. A Fateful Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An alternate perspective and a flash of times before.

“Why does it have to be so hot this time of the year?” Complains a woman walking down the sidewalk wearing a black tracksuit with white stripes. “Mornings are evil…” She grumbles, carrying two plastic bags full of groceries. Her long, pink hair slightly disheveled, she walks past one apartment complex down the street towards another one unusually close to the last. She almost closes her eyes for a moment until-

_***BEEP!*** _

“Guh!” The brooding girl snaps awake and stumbles closer to the sidewalk as a cab drove by. She didn’t realize she was that close to the road. “Today’s just not gonna be my day, huh?” She says to no one and then keeps walking for a few more minutes until she turns to enter the second apartment complex situated on this street. It was early in the morning so there were only a few people in the ground floor lobby, but the monochrome clothed girl still wore her shades to conceal her face. She takes the elevator up and reaches her own room. Unlocking the door with her key, she enters and removes her track shoes, making a quick stop to the kitchen and unloading her groceries.

She was about to go to change out of her clothes until she notices her phone that she left behind flashing with light indicating a missed call. She picks it up from the kitchen counter and reads the text message left behind instead. “Morning, Calliope. I hope you’re following that new routine we talked about. Though you missed my call to check if you are, I’m willing to give you the benefit of the doubt and believe you just left your phone in a random place in your room again. I don’t wanna force another conversation about it, but you really do need to start taking care of yourself better. Working hard is important but none of that will matter if you can’t even get up from bed every morning. I’m telling you this as your manager, but I’m worried about you as a friend too. Oh, and Kokoro said he wanted to show you something today. He won’t tell me but he says you should meet him when his shift ends tonight.” Sent by someone listed in her contacts as ‘Manager’.

“I’m trying my best here, Enma.” Mori Calliope says out loud. “But Rome wasn’t built in a day.” She pockets the phone and proceeds to head into her rest space. Changing into more casual clothing and immediately heading to her workspace. She writes some words on paper for a few minutes but most just end up crumpled in the rubbish bin that seems to keep piling up day after day. Frustrated, she scrolls through Twitter for a bit and likes a few good-looking artworks made by her loyal fans marked with #callilust. Nearly all of them depicting the girl as her public persona, the cool and dark death god wielding a giant scythe. She retweets some of them and were all immediately liked by a user named @grider_guitar. After having nothing else to look at, the lead singer of the Shinigamis sends a private message to her close acquaintance, Kokoro. Telling him that she’s gonna be dropping by tonight at his work.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

“HELLOOOOOOO!?!?” Mori Calliope yells inside the empty fast-food restaurant. Not surprised that Kokoro left the door open. She was considering barging into the staff room right then and there until a person could be heard opening the door and walking out.

“Excuse me, ma’am. I’m sorry but we’re closed for the ni-” A woman’s voice says walking behind the counter. Great, now she has to entertain this underpaid worker while Kokoro is nowhere to be seen. “Calli?” Mori barely hears over the mental frustration. Kokoro didn’t say someone else would be working here tonight.

“Dammit, where the fuck is Kokoro when you-” The taller girl stops her speech. How did she recognize her? Did Kokoro really reveal her identity to a random employee. Mori eyes the girl she didn’t pay attention to look at earlier and feels a slight familiarity. Wait a minute, is that actually her? “Kuso-” No, why would she be here. She must be mistaken. That was years ago. Maybe wearing shades indoors was finally becoming a detriment and so the jacketed girl lifts the pair from her face. “K-Kiara?” She stutters. That’s definitely her. Takanashi Kiara, the faded memory, in all her bright-haired radiance. “What are you doing he-” She tries to ask but was quickly interrupted by a voice coming from the other side of the room.

“Hey Sensei! Sorry, had to take a piss. What’s going on with-” Kokoro, in almost fashionable timing, walks into the picture. Mori forgets about the acquaintance for a moment as a thousand thoughts go through her mind. Why was Kiara here? How long has she been here? How long has it even been since that last time? “Told you she was that good.” Kokoro continues to be animated, either unaware or completely ignoring the silence that fell. “And damn are you lucky, you even got to meet her tonight.” Mori feels him pat her on the back. “I got us a new fan, Sensei! Look at her, she’s starstruck!” 

A new fan? Does Kiara know about her music? She focuses her eyes on the girl, still silent and looking up at her. Her bright, magenta eyes moist from what looks like clumsily wiped tears. Has it really been 5 whole years since she last saw those eyes? Memories from long ago flooded the mind of the performer but reminiscing right now would have to be cut short as Kokoro addresses the elephant in the room.

“What’s with all the silence? Did I miss something?” The senior employee asks, waiting for one of the other two to reply. The continued mute air was almost eerie until the girl behind the counter became the first to speak up.

“Oh.” Takanshi Kiara starts. “It’s nothing Kokoro.” She gives a small wave. “Just recognized an old friend.” She tries to deliver naturally, but there was an obvious pull to her voice as if she were trying to stop herself from running away and breaking down to cry. “How’ve you been Calli? It’s been a while, huh?” The orange-haired girl makes conversation.

“I… I’ve been good, yeah.” The pink-haired girl attempts to respond, not being skilled at small talk. “I came to see Kokoro.” She changes the topic. “Enma said you had something to show me?” She turns to converse with the dude instead.

“Wait, you two know each other?” He asks but was met with two sealed lips. Choosing not to pry into that now, he addresses Mori’s thought instead. “Yeah! I thought about just sending it to you through a message, but I wanted to see for myself your first impressions of it.” He runs to the staff room, leaving Mori and Kiara in awkward silence for a few seconds, until he comes back with his phone in hand. “I finished mixing your debut song. The Dead Beats are gonna love this!” And without warning, he plays the song for all three of them to hear. Certain memories flashing back for the two ‘old friends.’

-=-=-=- 6 years ago -=-=-=-

Somewhere on one of the few quiet streets of daytime Tokyo, a pink-haired young adult girl can be seen wandering around aimlessly, snacking on some takoyaki she purchased from a food stand. With what looked like a black bag hung over one shoulder, the girl paces across the sidewalk seemingly looking for something. “This seems like a good place.” Mori Calliope eyes the unlit neon sign of a semi-isolated bar located in an alleyway. She stares at the imagery for a bit, and goes in. However, a couple minutes later, the wandering girl can be seen exiting out the front door of the establishment. “Guess they won’t let me perform here either.” Mori checks her watch and reads 2:03 pm. Admitting defeat, she keeps walking.

Mori Calliope has never really liked crowds. Too much noise and close contact all in one place. Unfortunately for her, she lives in the most densely populated prefecture in the country. That so, she knows her way around the streets enough that she knows how to move away from the crowds into the more quaint and quiet parts. “HELP!” That was, until a loud cry broke that silence as two figures could be heard running perpendicular to her. “Stop! Thief!” She heard a girl shout. Exiting the alleyway, she sees a hooded man being chased by a girl with bright orange hair, the man holding what looked like a woman’s purse. Sighing to herself, Mori removes the bag from her shoulders.

“Give that back!” Takanashi Kiara screams out, to no one she can see. Why did she have to get lost on her first day in the country she always wanted to go to? Of all days it had to be the one where she also had to have an unfortunate encounter with a very fast running thief. “Stoooop!!!” She shouts, despite seeing that she somehow ended up on a very quiet street with no people outside. She was about to give up all hope until a loud crashing sound echoed from where the thief was running to. Catching up, the hopelessly lost girl sees the thief passed out on the ground. The consciousness apparently knocked out of him by a pink-haired girl now standing over where the man fell.

“This yours, miss?” Mori Calliope asks the physically exhausted girl as she picks up and presents the handbag looted from the unfortunate thief. She waits for a few moments as the other girl catches her breath.

“Oh, yes.” Kiara manages to say, still exhausted by the earlier chase. “Thank you for that.” She grabs her handbag from the other girl. She puts it back on her person and then turns to look at the girl who saved her from an even worse scolding from her parents. Slightly taller than her, long pink hair, eyes that pierce your soul with a glare, and pulling off spiked jackets like it wasn’t just a phase. “Damn she hot” She blurts out.

“W-what?” Mori Calliope honestly didn’t know how to respond to that. She wasn’t someone big on social interaction, but she thinks that even if she was, she wouldn’t be prepared for THAT to be someone’s first words for her aside from the common hi’s and thank you’s. Mentally shorting out she instead picks her bag back up, and hears it make an uncomfortable noise that sounds like a bunch of metal and plastic being shaken inside an enclosed wrap. “Oh goddamit!”

Kiara is suddenly snapped out from realizing that she really said that out loud and sees that the girl’s bag’s zipper was snapped off and the inside revealed one of those foldable electric keyboards. But instead of gawking at the hot girl’s choice of instrument, Kiara instead feels overwhelming guilt as the poor thing’s hinge didn’t take being used as a blunt weapon very well. It was snapped clean. The foldable hinge being the thing’s fatal aspect that ended its glorious days of playing. “I AM SO SORRY!” Kiara leans forward to hold the bag with the sorry excuse for an item. “I-I’LL MAKE IT UP TO YOU, I SWEAR!” She looks the taller girl in the eyes. “I don’t have that much money with me right now, but I swear I’ll pay it back!” She grabs her by the shoulders and violently shakes her savior.

“Okay, okay, stop it! Guh!” Mori Calliope shakes free of the grasp. “It’s fine. It’s my fault for not thinking about how that would actually play out.” She tries to bury her thoughts as that instrument was something her Sensei paid good money to get for her, and now she went and broke it for a girl she doesn’t even know. “You don’t have to pay me anything.” She salvages what remains of her dear friend and proceeds to walk away from the still unconscious man passed out beside her. Tapping on her old flip phone to inform local police about the attempted robbery in broad daylight.

“NO!” The orange-haired girl shouts. “I, Takanashi Kiara, solemnly swear to make it up to you and pay you back for the favor!” The girl without a working instrument tries to walk away from this but the still lost girl refuses to let up and follows her across the sidewalk for a good minute or two. Continuously speaking up every few seconds and not giving up on her insistence to pay it back.

“Can you-” Mori turned to face her then let out a long sigh. “Fine. If you’re gonna bother me so much about it, go ahead and do what you want if it pleases you.” Mori lets out another sigh and composes herself. “And since you talk so much… My name’s Mori Calliope. So, stop calling me hot girl or punk chick over and over again, please?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the introduction finished! Saying this now, I'm most likely not gonna be doing daily updates because my immediate schedule is already packed with my studies, but I really wanted to get these 2 chapters out as fast I can. I'll most likely update with a new chapter within a few days time in between each update because I really do wanna write this story out, but that's gonna be based on other responsibilities that need my time.
> 
> Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter as I plan to truly start the story I want to write for this AU with the next chapter. All I'll say about those next updates is you all better be prepared to play the Dead Beats album when you read or at least be able to sing along, because those tags don't lie.


	3. In This New Life, I Thought I Could Forget You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kiara feels a bit under the weather.  
> Why did she have to remember her again?  
> If only she truly forgot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> People like angst, right?

_“Bass high enough to exterminate ya  
You'll dance anyway, 'cause it's human nature  
でも、その前何となく一緒に楽しもう〜  
あなたの死ぬ日まで!”_

As the song had finished, Kokoro exits out of his phone’s music player and pockets the device. “What’d you think? I’d say it’s one of my best mixes yet. Wouldn’t you agree, Sensei?” He shoots a look towards Mori. “Rider even managed to sound even cooler when playing the ‘tar. More than he already is!”

Mori Calliope, at this point, would’ve normally given the man casual praise, thanking him for his work and reminding him that his effort was appreciated. However, there was an unexpected factor that stuck a wrench in the gears of her usual demeanor. A ghost of the past, and someone she reluctantly remembers too well. Takanashi Kiara. Part of her wanted to reminisce and relive those joyous times with the starry-eyed girl, however a bigger part of her wanted to look away and escape the crushing guilt in her heart that screams at her all the wrong that came from opening up to the girl all those years ago. Who exactly did she blame for that again?

“Oh, yeah.” The pink-haired girl remembers why she was here. “Good job, Kokoro. Really, wow. It’s good.” She articulates, as confused as someone else who would try to decipher if she were talking sarcasm or speaking genuine praise.

“REALLY!?”, Kokoro, however, was absolutely elated to hear his Sensei finally talk good about his work. “Woohoo!” He pumps his fist in the air. “See that, Kiara?” He animatedly points an extended arm and finger towards the new employee, to the chagrin of Mori who was forced to acknowledge that Kiara was still in the room. “We’re gonna be the best band ever!” He shouts while making his way back into the staff room, leaving behind a certain pair to remember each other’s presence in the room.

“Wow, you actually made it, huh?” Takanashi Kiara speaks with a lot less energy than she usually does. “You always said you wanted to make it big someday. I’m happy for you…” She gives the taller girl a sympathetic smile while trying to conceal the fact that every word she speaks pulls at her throat even more than the last. “Congratulations, Cal-” She suddenly stops. “Mori…” She manages to say. That last part hurting both of them almost equally. 

“Thanks…” Mori didn’t know how to approach this. She never expected to ever see her again after… **No.** It’s best not to remember that. Too much to think about right now. “I see you’re doing well for yourself.” She attempts to reciprocate the small talk, even managing a slight chuckle with what she says next. “You always wanted to work at one of these places, even though I never got WHY you-” She stops herself. How dare she try to get personal with her again. **Fucking monster.** Kiara nods slightly at this, as if trying not to even listen. The orange-haired girl turns to walk back to the staff room until- “Wait!” Mori interrupts her. **Good riddance.** “Need some help? Locking up, and stuff?” Why was she doing this? **It’s no use. She hates you.** “I need to wait for Kokoro anyway.” _Shouldn’t I at least try?_ “That’s it, yeah. I’m waiting on him…” **It’ll only happen again…**

“You’d do that for me?” Kiara replies with a slight smile.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Today was an eventful day for Takanashi Kiara. She flew to another country, travelled for hours on public transport, got settled into her new place, and even got to work her first day in a job she always wanted. It’s the life she always dreamed of. She should be happy for today, right? She asks herself internally while walking down the road leading back to her place, staring up at the beautiful night sky, its stars sparkling as bright as her eyes only hours earlier.

“So, anyway. How long until we actually debut, Sensei?” Kokoro’s voice interrupts the quiet self-reflection. “Enma won’t tell me shiz about the actual date because she thinks I’ll somehow end up leaking it prematurely. Can you believe her?” He asks the pink-haired girl walking beside him and in front of Kiara.

“I still have to sit down with her and discuss when the actual date is gonna be.” Mori Calliope answers back. “She thinks it’s better if I finish the last song I’m working on before I give the Dead Beats a date.” She continues her response to Kokoro, but sometimes her head turns to the side and you can catch a brief moment where she looks at Kiara.

“Oh.” Kiara stops in place. The other two also halting their pace to face the girl. “This is it. This is where I’ll be dropping off.” She looks up at the complex, to the 4th floor where her room is. She gives a soft smile to the two again.

“No way.” Kokoro looks as well. “You somehow already know Sensei AND you live so near each other? Where have you been all my life!?” His face beams. “I have so much more I want to ask you, buuut…” He delays that last syllable. “You two probably want to talk a bit more. I kinda got the feeling there was something you two won’t tell me earlier so…” He grins a bit. “Gotta blast! I’ll talk to you again another time, Sensei!” He bolts away from the two. Proceeding to leave Mori in the dust, standing there, awkwardly.

“…” The lead singer buffers for a bit, not really understanding what just happened. She stands there for a moment until she was forced to acknowledge Kiara again. “So… You live here?” She asks, and Kiara nods. “That’s… neat.” Mori forces herself to talk. “I actually live in the other complex just a few more minutes from here.”

“Thanks, Mori.” The down feeling girl speaks up. “Goodnight. Maybe another time.” She gives her one last smile.

“Goodnight…” The singer replies. “I guess I’ll be going now too.” She says and watches as Kiara turns away to walk into the building. And with that the two old friends go their separate ways. Both of them feeling a small sense of relief from the tension lifting as they don’t have to interact again for the moment, but almost equally feeling a slight sorrow for how they left on that note.

Takanashi Kiara goes up to her room. Opening the door, she takes off her shoes and immediately heads for the bed. She disrobes the jacket that kept her warm outside and flops down with her back on the soft mattress, silently staring at the ceiling for a few minutes to collect her thoughts. 6 whole years since she first got lost that fateful day, 5 whole years since she last smiled when she saw her face, and now 0 seconds since a fountain of tears left her eyes. The bright-haired upstart starts to weep as her heart finally lets out the all the emotions that she’s hidden away for all that time. It wasn’t a pretty cry. One could call it rather ugly, but one also could suppose that the most dormant emotions always come out the strongest. She silently sobs as everything she thought she had forgot comes flooding her thoughts. Not because they were bad thoughts. She actually forms a smile because those moments were some of the happiest that she’s ever been. However, all it took was one memory to undo all that mattered most. It was 5 years ago. When-

***BRR BRR***

Kiara pulls her phone from her pocket, the on-screen notification telling her that a close friend sent her a message. She opens the conversation log and finds a quickly written chat. “Hey, Ki! How was the flight? Sorry I couldn’t get to you earlier than this. Closing up the booth took a lot longer than expected. But that’s me, I wanna hear about you. How’s Japan?” Kiara smiles at this. That’s right, she almost forgot all about the other important people in her life. Seeing that her friend was online, Kiara switches to video chat.

“Hey Sydney!” She waves at the camera, the girl on the other side waving back. “How was Comic-con?” Kiara asks her. The girl on the other side visibly excited to reply. Her hair half-blonde and half-pink waving around a bit.

“IT WAS AMAZING!” Sydney replies. “There were so many people this year. My booth actually sold out! Everyone was just on a spending spree!” Kiara chuckles at this. “Those Hololive idols sure do have a scary amount of people willing to throw away hideous amounts of cash for any merch related to them.” That one brings out an actual laugh from the orange-haired girl, for she knows too well being a big fan of one of those idols. Specifically, one with a bunny aesthetic and a rather unique laugh that she subconsciously replicates now. “But enough about me, how about you? You’re in Japan for Christ’s sake! How’s Tokyo?”

“Oh.” Her mood goes back down, immediately raising a concerning look from the other side. “Relax, I’m fine.” She plays it off. “I’m just tired. It’s still the first day and I just got back from my first shift.” She sits up from the mattress. “It’s great! I still can’t believe I was able to go back here again.”

“Did you see her again?” Sydney all of a sudden sounding serious. “I know you, Ki. We’re childhood friends and only one thing has ever made you make that face.” With this, Kiara drops her demeanor. “You’re in the big city again so I thought it might happen eventually. Did she talk to you?”

“Don’t worry. She didn’t say anything that made me like this.” She reassures her friend. “I just kinda didn’t expect I’d see her again. To be honest, I kinda forgot she was even here.” She tells the truth. She really did forget about her for some time. “It’s mostly me. Remembering things. To be honest I kinda thought she acted a lot differently than before. Maybe she’s changed?”

“Do you still like her?” Her friend asks. “As your friend I’m reminding you that some things are best left behind. If she does that to you again, I swear I’ll fly there myself and kick her ass.” Sydney looks straight into the camera, patiently waiting for a response.

“To be honest… I’m not sure yet.” Kiara answers. “I wanted to run away nearly every moment I was with her, but I also wanted to maybe try to look past that and bring back what we once had.” The girl starts to get emotional again. “I really enjoyed all that time we spent together.” She starts to sob. “But I can’t say if I missed the moments or if I missed her.” Tears start to pour again.

“Okay, I won’t bring it up again.” Sydney tries to calm her down. “I was just worried about you.” She comforts her friend. “You don’t have to think about your answer yet. There’s still plenty of stuff you can do there without her. Maybe you should try getting your mind off of it for now. It’s pretty late out there right? Why don’t we call it there for the night and continue this another time? Sound good?”

The off-work employee sniffles once. “Sure. Thanks Sydney. I’m glad I could talk to you again. I really didn’t want to just leave you there, you know? I’m glad you can support me.” She tells the childhood friend.

“I know.” The girl with multicolored hair tells her. “I know you would’ve done the same for me if I had the chance. Goodnight, Ki.”

“Goodnight Syd. Thanks for everything.” And with that she ends the call. Kiara moves around her apartment for a bit to perform her nightly routines. After that, she goes to sleep and rests her tired head. 

-=-=-=- 5 years, 11 months ago -=-=-=-

“KIKERIKIII~!!!” Takanashi Kiara bursts through the door. Her morning energy all too apparent to the very surprised figure who was just about to exit the house.

“Guh! WHAT THE FUCK!?” Mori Calliope recoils back into the homestead, obviously not expecting the bright-haired girl. “HOW DID YOU EVEN FIND WHERE I LIVE!?” The pink-haired girl shouts and asks.

“Now now, dear Calli.” Says a man’s voice from even further inside the small home. “I invited Kiara here. She was all too excited to see you, I just couldn’t help it.” The man walks gripping a walking stick with his right hand to greet the energetic girl and let her inside. He looked to be around 60 years of age. His hair was white, and he wore glasses to make up for his normally blurry vision.

“I came to see you again, dear Calli! Did you miss me?” Kiara rushes forward to hug the surprised girl. “Now that your Sensei told me where you live, I can see you as often as I like!” She tightens the hug.

“Sensei!? You told her!?” Mori turns her head to the gentle man. “Why would you tell this annoying bird where we live? What in the hell did she say that convinced you to give up such reckless information?” She asks as she continues to struggle to break free from the other girl’s embrace.

“Ohohoho…” The man laughs. “She didn’t tell me anything. When I heard my dear Calli finally made a friend I was just all too happy to hear the news.” He says with a warm smile. “Kiara’s such a sweet girl so I happily allowed her to come whenever she wants."

“We’re gonna be so close, dear Calli~!” Kiara winks at the poor girl.

“Get off me already, Kusotori!” She keeps trying in vain to break free of the aggressive grapple. “Guh! Fuck my life!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who just learned how to use Ao3's html commands?
> 
> So I watched Kiara's 9.5 hour long stream live and couldn't help but aww to that childhood story of being a little weeb wanting to make friends. So I instantly added Sydney as a semi-original character for this fic. Know that this isn't meant to be a fic regarding an actual person, but a creative work taking inspiration from some irl stuff. I know we're already in a gray area with vtubers being online personalities and everything, but just know that I don't write with that thought in mind.


	4. Meet The Shinigamis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kiara's 2nd day at the job proves that life in Japan is, at least, eventful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My schedule wasn't as bad as I initially thought so I got to write more.
> 
> :D

The sun is rising, the birds are singing, and souls are waking. It’s a beautiful morning in this part of Tokyo. If one were to take a walk in the big city, they would already be able to see the hustle and bustle of early commuters and dozens of students moving to catch the trains. Being the most densely packed prefecture in all of Japan, it isn’t surprising to find that there’s a morning rush to catch the earliest rides possible. One soul, however, isn’t taking part in this morning congestion. Takanashi Kiara wakes in her 4th floor apartment to the sound of her own alarm.

**_*What sounds like dozens of chickens either in pain or doing a mating call. You know the one.*_ **

“Ngggghhh…” The orange-haired girl stirs in her bed. She sits up after a few seconds passed on the alarm and afterwards she reaches to the drawer situated beside her bed to end the morning reminder. She raises both arms for a stretch while rotating her head, her neck making a cracking sound on the second rotation. She turns her body at a right-angle counterclockwise and lets her legs hang on the side of the bed. “…” She remains silent for a bit as the memories of the previous day catch back up to her. “So that wasn’t just a dream?” After mentally running by the entirety of yesterday in her mind, Takanashi Kiara stands up, does her morning routines, and prepares to face the day. “I need to buy some food…” She says out loud when her minifridge turned out to be empty.

Exiting her room and moving into the hallway, the early riser makes her way down the elevator and into the ground floor lobby. The morning sun shining through the large windows spread across the lobby walls and refracting through the hard glass of the rotating door used to enter and exit the building. Leaving the building and preparing to walk down the sidewalk, she faces the day with confidence. However, a loud noise that sounds like engines revving interrupts that train of thought as a black motorcycle pulls up beside her. The man on it wearing a black biker’s vest and a helmet with a burning skull design, matching his bike’s aesthetic of flame decals. “Morning!” He greets Kiara while taking off his helmet, revealing glorious flaming red hair. “The name’s Griffin, and I was told there was supposed to be a fast-food restaurant near here? Do you happen to know where that is?” He asks.

“Morning.” The other redhead responds. “Yes, that would be the KF[C-opyright] just a couple minutes from here.” She points down the road. “You should be able to see it immediately when you get to the tall sign.” She informs the biker.

“Alright! Thanks, little lady!” Griffin puts his helmet back on and starts the bike again, its orange headlights flashing on the chrome skull between the handlebars despite it being day. “Ya boi Rider is eating drive-by food for breakfast and no one can stop me!” He twists one handle and proceeds to ride into the distance, a bit of smoke lingering on Kiara who walks away from where the bike used to be.

“Huh.” Kiara mumbles out. She’s met eccentric people before and that man wasn’t the first to pull up to her on a bike, but she was still surprised to see one of them in Japan. Actually, no. She wasn’t. She picked her up like that all those years ago too.

-=-=-=- 5 years, 10 months ago -=-=-=-

“Are you sure this is safe?” Takanashi Kiara worries while staring at the two-wheeled ride. “This won’t tip over while I’m on it, right?” She asks the rider of the vehicle.

“Of course, it’s safe. What are you, chicken?” Mori Calliope asks her passenger. “Hop on and put this on already.” She hands Kiara a helmet. “You’re the one who wanted to go somewhere anyway. I still don’t understand why Sensei likes you so much, but he just won’t shut up about me never taking you anywhere.” She grumbles while putting on her own helmet.

“If it’s to spend more time with my wife, then I would do anything!” The previously scared girl shouts for all the neighborhood to hear. “Let’s go, dear Calli~!!!” She hops on.

“Shut it, will you!?” She grunts as the other girl takes advantage of their positioning and hugs the driver tight. “You’ll give people the wrong idea about us if you keep that up!” She tries to prepare to ride, but this little bird won’t let up.

“Ehhhh? But what’s so bad about that? I just want the world to know how much I love my dear Calli~” She proudly admits, producing a blush on the pink-haired girl’s cheeks that, thankfully for the foul-mouthed girl, no one can see under the helmet.

“Guh! Shut up already!” She grips the other girl’s wrists. “You don’t need to hold me that tight. You can grab onto the handle at the back if you’re really scared.” She could feel the annoying bird’s smug grin at this. “It’s not like I’m worried about you or anything! Sensei just wouldn’t let it go if you somehow got hurt. That’s all there is to it! Now shut up and let’s get this over with now so it can end as quickly as possible.” And she drives off.

It took a few minutes, and despite Calli’s earlier reminder, Kiara never fully let go of the punk girl’s waist. Mori would tell you that telling the other girl a second time would be useless after already knowing her for 2 whole months, but Kiara would tell you that her wife was slowly opening up to her and her random antics. Who could say who’s right after all? Hopefuls could believe both to be true. The quick motorcycle ride comes to a stop as both girls dismount and shoot a glance to their destination. A karaoke place named ‘Enma’s Hollow’.

“Alright, we’re here. Now go in and let’s get this over with.” The taller girl says as she secures her Sensei’s ride and stores the two helmets. “I’ll handle the money at the counter so just wait inside.” She tells Kiara, who’s already bolted in and making small talk with the people inside, producing a long sigh from Mori, and a slight tinge of sadness that she just left her like that. Not that she’d tell you that, of course. And so, she also goes in, handling all the necessary processes with the black-haired woman at the counter.

“Woooooow~” Takanashi Kiara marvels at the small room. “I can’t believe I’m actually in one!” She giddily gyrates. “There’s so much I wanna try!” She instantly moves to fiddle with the karaoke machine, capable of reading the language after all.

“Just don’t break anything.” Mori also enters the room. “I got us drinks so you can just start singing over there while I wait for all this to be over.” She sits down on the wide chair across from Kiara.

“I already have my first song. Be ready Calli because I'm about to woo you with my voice!” She gives the sitting girl a wink, that totally wasn’t cute at all, right Mori? The driver of the two tried to look indifferent, but when she heard the starting guitar of Kiara’s first choice, she visibly cringes in anticipation of the coming onslaught.

https://youtu.be/KxQwGkgQels

_“He was a boy  
She was a girl  
Can I make it any more obvious?”_

Ughhhhhhhh....

_“He was a punk  
She did ballet  
What more can I say?”_

Of all the songs…

_“He wanted her  
She'd never tell  
Secretly she wanted him as well  
And all of her friends  
Stuck up their nose  
They had a problem with his baggy clothes”_

Of course, she chose this one…

_“He was a skater boy  
She said, "See you later, boy"  
He wasn't good enough for her  
She had a pretty face  
But her head was up in space  
She needed to come back down to earth”_

“Oh fuck I fucked uuup!” Kiara swears, getting a snort from Mori.

_“Five years from now  
She sits at home  
Feeding the baby, she's all alone  
She turns on TV  
Guess who she sees  
Skater boy rockin' up MTV~”_

Mori had a complicated relationship with this song. When she was younger, she would listen to this all the time on the radio. Western music always fascinated her, so this was one of the many songs she listened to back in the day. She almost forgot Kiara was actually foreign, and therefore also probably listened to those same songs. She puts her palm on her face as Kiara goes back to singing the chorus.

_“He was a skater boy  
She said, "See you later, boy"  
He wasn't good enough for her  
Now he's a super star  
Slammin' on his guitar  
Does your pretty face see what he's worth?”_

Mori cringes at her past taste. She wouldn’t touch this song with a 10-foot pole if given the choice. Not that she thought it was bad, but because she was internally screaming at her past self for vibing so hard with the story told in the song. She had a punk aesthetic after all, and this song was an embarrassing reminder of her younger years. Kiara keeps singing the rest of the song while moving animatedly. She was probably winking and doing flourishes towards the secretly embarrassed girl, but she refuses to let her palm reveal that to her eyes. However, Mori had to admit, she was actually really good at singing. Maybe opening up to her about her own desires to write music won’t be such a bad idea after all?

_“I'm with the skater boy  
I said, "See you later, boy"  
I'll be backstage after the show  
I'll be at a studio  
Singing the song we wrote  
About a girl you used to know…”_

“And for my next song, Hot N Cold by Katy Perry!~” Noooooooooo!!!

-=-=-=- Present time -=-=-=-

“Hey, Kiara. Can you watch my post for a bit? Gotta handle something really quick.” Kokoro, coming from the front counter to the cook room, asks the junior employee who just finished her next batch of chicken.

“Oh? Sure. I can take over for a bit.” She finishes putting the batch into a bucket and moves to the counter to cover for her senior. Tonight, wasn’t as bad as last night. Comparatively, there were less people, so it was easier to handle, and the aspiring Tenchou also cooled down a bit rather than being overly observant of her other coworkers. She could do this on her own merit. If she shows everyone how much she can perform on her own, they’ll definitely promote her fast, right? But that train of thought would have to be put on hold for now as a new figure walks through the restaurant doors.

“Oh?” The man makes a face. Wait a minute… “It’s you! Morning girl!” The man who introduced himself as Griffin earlier greets her. “Wow, you actually work here, huh? No wonder you knew exactly where this was.” He moves up to the counter. “Say, does that mean you also know Kokoro? That rascal told me to meet him here today but conveniently left out the fact that he’s actually working on the night shift. Cheeky brat. He doesn’t even know to respect his seniors.” He continues to ramble.

“Uhm, yes.” Kiara responds. “He said he’s taking care of something right now. Are you here to order something, sir?” She asks him, her professionalism showing.

“What? Oh, naaahhh…” He replies. “I already got my fill waiting the first half of the day for him here. I’m here again to come pick him up for our band practice.” He admits, running his hands on his forehead to maintain his standing, red hair. “The name’s Rider, by the way. Griffin Rider. Fans call me Ghost, and I’m the guitarist for the Shinigamis. Hope you’ll support us; we’ll be making our debut soon.”

“Rider?” Kokoro’s voice asks from beside Kiara. “Heyyy. How’ve you been, bro?” He high-fives Griffin, who immediately turns it into a stranglehold. “O-o-ow…” Kokoro mumbles between breaths.

“Do you wanna know how long I waited here for your sorry ass before you told me what time you actually work here?” He glares at the shorter man. “You better learn the subject of respecting your elders, boy, otherwise you’ll be getting a private tutoring from me. And I don’t give good grades.” He pulls Kokoro down enough for his head to be above the younger man, menacingly grinning at him.

“Okay, okay, break it up you two. There are customers that need serving here.” Kiara tries to remind the biker of where he’s at, potentially saving his public image from getting sullied as there were quite a few people just staring at the two men interlocked in a grapple. “Please, Mr. Rider. Can you please wait a bit more until our shift’s over? I’m sure Kokoro would be willing to make it up to you then.” With this, Griffin lets go of the nearly suffocated Kokoro, who takes a moment to catch his breath.

“I… I’m…” He continues panting. “I’m sorry…” Kokoro takes another breath. “I’m sorry that YOUR BREATH STINKS, MAN DO YOU EVEN BRUSH!?” He proceeds to run into the staff room, nimbler than the bigger man.

“Why you little shit!” Griffin tries to chase after him. “Get back here!” Kokoro closes the door on him. “Dammit!” He realizes busting down the door would probably get him fined. “You win this one, little rat.”

Kiara lets out a looooooooong sigh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I lied. It won't just be the Dead Beats album. Did you catch those hints in the earlier chapters that I was adding Rider as a character? Also, this was the first song chapter. I tried to write this one while timing my own words with the song so I hoped you were immersed if you actually did listen while reading. I considered making this one longer so I could include the next scene, but I'm saving it for next chapter because I'm comfortable with the word count.
> 
> A lighter chapter to balance out that last one. This time I focused on introducing another recurring character in this fic. If you were hoping for other idols to make it into this one as main characters, I'm sorry but I wanted to stay true to the themes I have planned for this work. Adding other Hololive girls was something I considered but I decided to use semi-original characters to truly be able to explore some scenes and dialogue. That doesn't mean they won't be mentioned entirely though. ;)
> 
> Edit:  
> Credits go to HoloLive Sings for the clip I used, Takanashi Kiara for her own performance, and Avril Lavigne for the original song. I in no way take credit for their work and am merely here to produce and remix fan content as a creative outlet.


	5. Names Are What You Make Them To Be

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Extension of the previous chapter's events.  
> Kokoro and Rider meet up with the rest of the Shinigamis for band practice, with a little extra in tow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all have the album ready...
> 
> (I am aware that these songs don't have all the instruments I say they have but for the sake of the Band AU, canonically they are played with those instruments.)
> 
> Edit:  
> Thank you so much for 1k hits! I still can't believe my 2nd ever fanfic got this much attention. Fitting that I released this chapter just in time to celebrate it.

“What do you say, Kiara? Wanna see our little band perform?” Kokoro asks his work junior. Now out of his uniform and sporting a blue jacket while hanging a Bluetooth headset around his neck. “Me and Rider can probably get you in to see. I’m sure Enma wouldn’t mind the visit.” He finishes locking up the restaurant door from the outside. “She wouldn’t, right Rider?”

“Beats me.” Says Griffin Rider, leaning on the wall of the fast-food establishment, obviously just waiting for Kokoro to finish up. “I still barely know anything about that woman. She makes the same face when she’s mad at us for messing something up and for when she’s happy that we can play in sync, if that demon can even feel happiness.” He pulls out a cigarette and proceeds to light it, breathing it in. “She’s a mystery wrapped in an enigma that one.” He mumbles out as he exhales some smoke, and then puts the cigarette back into his mouth.

“Should I really be there then?” Takanashi Kiara asks. She had to admit, she was curious how Mori’s like now with the whole band thing, but was she really ready to see her again so soon? “I mean, I might just get in the way of your playing and everything. I’d rather not if that’s gonna be the case…” She says as Kokoro stands up and faces the other two.

“Then I have just the idea!” He points a finger up into the nighttime sky. “We can get you into the side room where you can hear and see us play through the blinds. As long as we don’t say you’re there, no one will ever know! I’m a genius!” That last line getting him a karate chop from Griffin. “Ow.” 

“Nice idea, ‘genius’. That’s assuming Enma doesn’t end up going in that room to let us play without her observing us.” He adjusts his posture to be fully standing. “And why are you so insistent on getting a rando to hear us play anyway?” He turns to face Kiara. “No offense, but what reason do I have to bring you along with us? Even if you are Kokoro’s little friend, that normally isn’t enough for him to just insist to bring someone along. What are you?” The tone of his voice gradually starting to sound like an interrogator, making the junior employee slightly shaky.

“I…” The orange-haired girl speaks up. He’s right, what is she? “I know…” She tries to continue, the red-haired man raising his eyebrow to tell her that he’s waiting. “I knew Mori when I was in Japan for a year.” She admits. It isn’t wrong after all. This causes the tall man to back up a bit in surprise. “It was years ago, but we spent a lot of time together back then.”

“See, Rider?” Kokoro stands beside Kiara. “Since when did Sensei ever open up to us about her past? For all we could tell, she’s been a loner her entire life who’s only passion in life was her work.” He hangs an arm around the girl’s neck. “The stories this girl could tell! Aren’t you curious too? Sensei, when she was younger? How cool she was and still is?” He continues to list his own curiosities, waiting for the older man to approve.

“Huh, you do have a point.” Griffin admits. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious. The only other person I could tell who would know that would probably be Enma, and that demon has a way of killing all small talk.” The red-haired man starts to walk away from the restaurant. “What are you waiting for? Let’s go!” He motions for the other two.

“Oh.” Takanashi Kiara realizes what he’s implying. “Alright.” Is she really doing this? She supposes it won’t hurt if Mori doesn’t know she’s there. “Looks like I’m going with.” She walks forward along with Kokoro and follows the lead of the older man.

-=-=-=- 5 years, 10 months ago, extended -=-=-=-

“No way!” Takanashi Kiara gasps in surprise. “YOU WRITE YOUR OWN SONGS!?” She shouts as she moves uncomfortably close to the pink-haired girl sitting beside her on the bench outside the karaoke place. “Just how cool IS my wife!?” She leans her face closer to the other girl.

“It’s not that big of a deal.” Mori Calliope says as she turns her face away from the starry-eyed girl. “I just write what I’m feeling and put a beat into it. I’m not that special.” She admits and then drinks from the canned soda she purchased from the nearby vending machine.

“Are you kidding me? Of course, that’s special!” Kiara beams. “You’re expressing yourself through a creative process! It’s wonderful and absolutely awe inspiring!” She continues to praise the other girl, who’s desperately trying to hide the reddening in her cheeks right now. “I have to admit, I’m a little jealous myself. I always wanted to try making my own song, but I haven’t made that much progress on it at all…” She moves her face back to look at the ground instead.

“Hey now. Don’t beat yourself up like that.” Mori unconsciously moves to comfort the girl. “You’re making an effort, and that’s a big deal too.” Mori pats her on the back. “You have something you want to try, and you have the desire to do it. That sounds pretty amazing to me.” The punk girl unconsciously forms a smile on her face. Wait a minute what?

The previously sad girl quickly turns her head to look at her dear companion. “You really mean it?” She smiles, adorably so. Mori, in all the sudden confusion on how she just acted, just nods. “CALLIIIIIII~!!!” Kiara hugs the taller girl tight. “I love you!!!” She proudly shouts, making Mori’s cheeks even redder. “YOU’RE SO BEAUTIFUL AND NICE AND CUTE AND I JUST CAN’T SAY IT ENOUGH!!!” That last line turning some heads of the few people walking by. Unfortunately for Mori, they all smile at the cute pair.

“OKAY, ENOUGH! Guh!!!” Mori pulls herself free from the hug, having learned from the last assault. “You’re giving people the wrong idea again, Kusotori. Stop it!” She stands up from the bench. “Geez, what will it even take for you to calm down a bit?” She sighs to herself.

“Hmm…” Kiara wonders. Uh oh, what did Mori just do? “Maybe if you’d sing to me, I’ll promise to behave myself for a week.” FUCK. “I love you so much, but if you could do that for me, I swear I’ll keep my promise.” Kiara winks at Mori, who’s internal monologue sounds like if every soul in hell’s misery could be heard screaming all at once.

“An entire week huh…” Mori considers the offer. With how often this shit bird bothers her, a week’s worth of her silence would be a pretty significant amount of time where she can relax and not worry about her antics. “Hmm…” She weighs her options. On one hand, rest and relaxation she hasn’t had for 2 whole months, and on the other one embarrassing moment that’ll only take about a minute. “Fine, but just this once.” She takes the offer.

“Yayyy~!” Kiara raises her arms high. “I’ll be sure to listen intently.” She postures herself properly on the bench. Back straight, head high, legs together, and palms on her thighs; waiting patiently for the other girl to perform. Mori starts by making a beat with her voice. Here we go…

https://youtu.be/vz7JIBvAFqM?t=37

_“I'm a Reaper on HIATUS,  
Try'na decide how to play this  
Trapped in a stasis - I hate this!  
I haven't taken a life in like ages, okay  
This is heinous, but wait.  
Look at me now!  
Try'na get souls and I just found out how!  
Put up a shroud,  
Stream for the crowd  
Play up the game, and the viewers could bow!  
Stay tough, 'cause maybe the hate will get loud  
And the state of my mind could decline, "'cause I'm proud"  
(Press "F" to doubt...)  
... I'll shut my mouth...  
Getting the feeling this rhyme's going south  
But forget that!”_

“Woah.” Kiara mouths, absolutely stunned by this girl’s skill. At first it was just teasing, but now she’s actually amazed by her performance. During the times she’s visited the girl’s room, she’s definitely noticed all the underworld themes that Mori likes. She never imagined she was actually serious about taking up a persona of a reaper as her character. The rapper continues to go and even starts to rap in Japanese, impressing Kiara even more. Takanashi Kiara never knew she could fall even harder for this girl.

-=-=-=- Present Time -=-=-=-

“Hey. Glad you two could make it.” A woman’s voice says, entering the practice room. “Looks like Enma’s not here yet. Did you two run into her earlier?” Mori Calliope asks her fellow band members.

“No, Sensei!” Kokoro responds, giving the lead singer a salute. “And Rider was too busy stinking his mouth again with his smoking problem.” He dodges an incoming blow from the bigger man.

“YOU NEVER LEARN, HUH, LITTLE SHIT!?” Griffin yells at the younger man, earning him a scorn from Mori. “Sorry, Sensei.” He apologizes. “This brat’s just been giving me quite a day.” He tones down his voice in the presence of the reaper in command.

“Well, I suppose we’ll just start without her for now.” She moves backwards a bit into the wall with blinds covering the window of the side room, inspecting their practice room’s interior for anything that would inhibit their performance. “Looks fine to me. Requiem, to the drums. Ghost, get your guitar.” The leader commands, as serious as can be.

“Yes, Sensei!” The two men who apparently have the titles of ‘Requiem’ and ‘Ghost’ fire back, almost as if they were trained to respond like that. Kokoro moves to one side of the room and removes the cloth hiding a drum set, and Griffin puts down his guitar case and unzips it to reveal a red and white electric guitar.

Takanashi Kiara quietly observes the band from behind the blinds. Watching as Kokoro’s usually almost childish behavior and Griffin’s usually temperamental attitude slowly fade away as the seriousness drilled into them by their leader starts to show how proper they are with their playing. Mori Calliope making short but succinct comments on small things like posture, breathing patterns, and tiny movements to correct their earlier lax attitudes. It seems Mori Calliope has changed in more ways than one since all those years ago. Whatever she is now, it shows the dedication to her progress. Kiara silently wonders if Mori really was successful in adopting that goddess of death persona that she always talked about with her. Kiara asks herself more questions, but a new figure walking through the door halts that train of thought for now.

“You’re late Versteckt.” Wait a minute, did Mori just speak German? “You’re the one who set the time for us tonight here, too.” Mori tells the woman known as ‘Versteckt’. “We’re just starting, so you should get to your place too.” The leader tells the last member.

“My my, Calli. Is that really how you speak to your manager?” Says Versteckt. “After all I’ve done for you too. I couldn’t get a little leeway for having to deal with annoying customers at the Hollow?” The Hollow? Where has Kiara heard that before?

“Do I have to keep reminding you that it’s ‘Sensei’ when we play?” Mori asks the black-haired woman. Wait a minute, Kiara recognizes her, but from where? “You’re Enma, our manager, out there, but in here you’re Versteckt, bassist of the Shinigamis. I trust I don’t have to repeat that.” Enma? Wait…

“You got it Sensei.” Enma replies, removing her own guitar case off her shoulder and revealing a black and red bass guitar. “Shows what I deserve for doing double time as both manager and member.” The older girl makes a comment while lowering her black-rimmed glasses, earning a look from Mori who obviously wants to say something but chooses not to. Maybe because she played the manager card.

“Just do your part, Versteckt.” Mori quickly says, her tone slightly softer when addressing the red-eyed woman. So it seems Mori still has her tsun quirks, Takanashi Kiara thinks to herself.

“Yes, Sensei!” The manager and also member gives Mori a salute, ruffling her black hair and making the red dyed strands more apparent to those who wouldn’t have already seen it. Enma moves to her positioning in the band, ties up her hair into a ponytail, and throws her black business suit to the side and comfortably breathes in her white polo.

“Then let’s play.” Mori says, adjusting the height of the mic. The other band members checking the sounds of their own instruments before quickly playing the first notes of a song they’ve obviously practiced to perfection.

https://youtu.be/6ydgEipkUEU

_“Dead Beats, lurking now, Dead Beats, lurking now  
Dead Beats, lurking now, Dead Beats, lock it down” 3x  
(This song makes no sense)_

Mori softly starts, until the skill that Kiara saw all those years ago shows itself for all the members and her to hear. The solo performance was entrancing to say the least, but it immediately became captivating when the rest of the Shinagamis added their part to the performance and started to truly play.

_“Gettin' kinda "stir-crazy, " you heard this  
I wonder what the meaning of "lazy" or life without work is  
Kawaii shinigami at your service  
Mark your enemies, and I'll show them what hurt is!  
Merciless, but what else should I be?  
Sudden nice-guy gap, but that's honesty  
A blood price to be paid, but I promise, it's worth this  
On-demand-homicidal-circus!” _

Kiara listens intently to the secret performance. She could tell the progress Mori’s made to her rap. She was there to help her improve it after all. Now she was curious to see how she developed without her. How does a Mori 5 years later sound to the girl who was there during the start of her journey?

_“We'll lock it down!  
So when you bitches need me, call!  
(By your side with my scythe and red wine)  
I'll make 'em wish they never lived at all!  
(I'll fuck 'em up, Gucci?)  
Just leave it all to us, 'cause in the end  
We on another level, when the dust settles:  
An actual scene outta hell~”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those curious about their canon ages for this fic: Kokoro is 20, Mori and Kiara (Present time) are 24, Rider is 28, and Enma is 30 yrs old.
> 
> I decided that the Shinigamis all have individual titles that provide a nice description of each of their roles. Did you like that touch? It's a nice read if you wanna look into it.
> 
> So the Shinagamis have finally been fully introduced, which marks the first major arc I had planned for this story. The next set of chapters will be the second arc. How'd you like Enma's characterization? Her reveal was a lot more obvious than Rider but I hope she was still a pleasant surprise as the last major recurring character I have for this fic. Hope you'll continue following this story as I've been really enjoying writing it on my spare time. I'll keep trying for daily updates but maybe I'll slow down a little depending on other responsibilities. Peace!


	6. Meant To Be, Supposed To Be, But We Lost It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All of the memories  
> So close to me  
> Just fade away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I don't reply to comments, but thank you. I'm truly grateful for the support.  
> That said, have a sad chapter~ <3

“Good job. That performance was acceptable.” Mori Calliope says to her bandmates, who all give her a nod, knowing that their leader doesn’t use the word ‘good’ very often. “I suppose we’re done here for the night.” She moves away from the mic and the other Shinigamis start packing up their own instruments. “Unless Enma has something new to tell us.” She turns to face her manager, now using her given name.

“I do, actually.” Enma says as she puts back on her black business suit and lowers her hair. “I think we’re ready to make our debut.” She admits, causing everyone in the room to turn their gaze towards her, including the still hidden Takanashi Kiara. “This Sunday. Ruby Room, Shibuya. 8:00 pm.” She tells them. “I got us a gig for one song. Since we’re indie, it’s gonna be our best bet to make our shot. I say we play ‘Dead Beats’ there and after getting more people aware, go with Kokoro’s idea and stream ‘失礼しますが、RIP♡?’ to satisfy your online followers.” She tells in her business voice, her earlier demeanor when playing seeming to have vanished completely. “Any thoughts?” She asks while looking to Kokoro and Griffin, her posture imposing her dominance towards the two.

“Sounds good to me!” Kokoro quickly responds. “Whatever you say, manager Enma!” He says with a grin and wink, provoking a glare from the black-haired woman. “Sorry…” He rubs the back of his head.

“Two days from now?” Griffin speaks up. “You don’t know when to give us a break, huh?” He challenges her glare, two forces of will clashing in the brief moment of eye contact. Enma’s deep red meeting the biker’s bright orange. “Tch.” Griffin breaks the stand-off. “Fine, I guess I can work with that.” He concedes, causing Enma to form a half smile.

“I guess it’s settled then.” Mori finishes the discussion. “Drill your parts over the next two days and play better than you did earlier.” She commands the others. “I want to make sure we hit this one big. I won’t tolerate any less.” The lead singer says while looking over the other three. “And Enma, I need to speak to you about something. Privately.” She tells the older woman.

“So you finally have something to tell me about that.” Enma responds. “I was wondering when you were gonna move your ass and do something about it.” She grins at the band leader, using her managerial position as leverage to backsass the younger woman. “You both did well tonight boys. I’ll be letting you two off. I’m in a giving mood right now so you two can take the rest of the night off.” She tells the two men as she and Mori exit the room. Allowing the drummer and the guitarist to both release a sigh of relief as her presence has left the vicinity. Both wait a few moments until Kokoro shouts out.

“You’re free to come out now Kiara!” He shouts in the direction of Kiara’s hiding place. The orange-haired girl peeking through the frame of the door before exiting to meet the two. “So, how’d you like the view? Weren’t we sick?” Kokoro nudges Kiara on the shoulder.

“…” Griffin remains silent, still staring at the direction where the two others left earlier. He notices Kiara walking up to them and turns to acknowledge her instead.

“Wow, I have to admit you were right.” Takanashi Kiara tells the two, Kokoro pumping a fist to this. “She’s certainly changed after all those years.” She continues to speak. “She’s improved so much since we last worked on her…” She leaves the last part out, piquing the curiosity of the other two. “It’s nothing!” She assures them. “Just old memories from 5 years ago. It’s nothing that special.”

“See that, Rider?” Kokoro nudges the guitarist. “I told you it was worth bringing her along!” He forms a smug grin, that the biker desperately tries to resist punching off right then and there.

“I see…” He acknowledges Kiara instead. “You really did know her that long ago. I don’t see why you would go this far if you’re lying, so I guess I’ll have to take your word for it then.” He admits. “Well, that’s enough for me tonight.” He starts to walk out. “I need a drink…” The red-haired man mumbles as he also leaves the room.

“…” Takanashi Kiara remains silent. Certain thoughts running through her head. How much Mori changed, how much she stayed the same, and how she truly feels about her. Is the tugging at her heart right now the pain of remembrance coming back, or is it the regret that stemmed from her not being there to witness to growth of a person she once held dear? She didn’t know. Will she ever know? Does she truly want to try bringing those moments back, or does she just want to feel the warmth of a long-lost feeling she once held close in her heart after realizing she spent years shaking in the cold?

“You coming, Kiara?” Kokoro’s voice asks him from further than where he was previously standing. “There’s nothing else to see in this place. It’s pretty rusty in my opinion but it’s good enough for what we do.” He waits by the door.

“Oh, yes. I’m coming!” Kiara snaps free of her thoughts. Pushing them aside for now. She and Kokoro leave the establishment and walk back out onto the nighttime road.

“Man, I’m beat!” Kokoro shouts while staring up at the night sky. “Doing the drums sure does take it out of you, huh?” He turns to look at Kiara, who nods despite not having any experience with the instrument. “You know a lot more than you’re letting on, don’t you?” He asks, surprising the silent girl. “I may act like I do, but I’m not daft you know. I could tell there was something going on between you two since last night.” He continues. “You say that you’ve known each other for at least 5 years now, yet you never give exact details as to what it is you know. You say you’re old friends but there seems to be this underlying tension between you two, as if things took a bad turn in your relationship.” He looks back up, Kiara remaining speechless as he continues to speak. “Sensei has always been cold. It’s part of the image she likes to project. She’s never let down that persona even when being casual with us. I get that she still doesn’t see us as her friends, but rather close acquaintances, but still, it must take some deep-rooted dedication to maintain that aura around everyone you know. Unless there was some deeper reasoning as to why she acts the way that she does.” He pauses for a moment. _“Come a little closer Kusotori, then laugh at me!”_ He sings in the same beat as that first song Kiara heard. “I never got why she wrote that as part of the song. Lord knows she’ll never tell me. But it always struck me as a weird part of her that I’ve never been able to understand.” He looks back down to face the girl. “That is, until you came along.” He addresses her. “The moment you two were together, she dropped all that deep-rooted acting she’s maintained for as long as I’ve known her. When we were walking back, she became unusually casual with me and consistently looked as if she was keeping part of her attention to checking that you were still there with us.” He stares at the junior employee for a while before continuing. “You matter to her, somehow. In a way that no one else has. There’s something there that she’s kept hidden until you came along.” He smiles at the next part. “Why am I getting all serious like this, you ask?” Kiara doesn’t respond. “It’s because I worry about her too.” Kiara’s eyes widen a bit. “Don’t misunderstand. I still only feel admiration towards her. I really do think she’s cool. But I can also see that she’s trying too hard to maintain that appearance around her. I wanna tell her that it’s okay to let that façade down sometimes, but I know she doesn’t see me the same way.” He gives the girl one last set of words. “If you think you can do something about it, go see Enma at Enma’s Hollow tomorrow. She should be working there at around mid-afternoon. She probably knows a lot more than me about this. I have a feeling she might know a bit about you too if she’s known Sensei for as long as I think she has.” He turns around, starting to walk away. “I’ll see you at Ruby Room, Kiara!” He gives her a parting wave. “After that it’ll be back to work.” And he goes into the distance, leaving Kiara alone again with her thoughts.

-=-=-=- Meanwhile… -=-=-=-

“Hey Sensei.” A woman’s voice calls out to the darkness. “I know it’s been a while, but I came to see you again.” She pauses for the other side to respond. “We’re starting our journey. Are you proud of us?” Another long pause. “Everything’s going well. I can finally repay you for taking care of me that long. If I make it big, I can get you a better place than this old shack. I hope it’ll be enough. I know you did much more for me than that.” She continues to stand in the dark outside, the area black as night with no lights. “If not… I don’t know what I’ll do next.” She takes a swig from the bottle of alcohol in her hand.

-=-=-=- 5 years, 9 months ago -=-=-=-

“Hey Calli.” Takanashi Kiara calls the girl while lying down on a bed. “I know it’s a different topic, but I haven’t really thought about when else to ask this.” She kicks her feet hanging from the side up and down, staring at the blank, white ceiling. “But where are your parents? I was thinking about what I want to say when I eventually meet them.”

“There’s nothing to tell.” Mori Calliope answers from the side of her room while working on something on her desk. “I don’t have any.” At this, Kiara stops her movements and sits up to face the girl. “Don’t act sorry. I’m over it. It’s not like I even knew them.” She tells the bright-haired girl while continuing to write on a piece of paper. “I’ve been an orphan all my life and Sensei was the one who adopted me when I was 10. I’ve been living with him ever since. I never got to go to school nor make friends in the normal sense.” She continues scribbling words. “And I’m fine with that. Other people only slow you down anyway. I like it better alone.” She picks up the paper and crumples it up, then throws it in the rubbish bin, with the rest of her scrapped lyrics.

“That’s…” Kiara mumbles out. “That’s so sad… I’m sorry…” She says, seeming to have nothing positive to say for the first time.

“Don’t be.” Mori fires back. “Sorry won’t change anything.” She grabs another sheet from her desk. “I doubt I would’ve been that different even if I did know them.” She starts to write again. “And I suppose I might’ve not met you if they were here. That’s at least one positive.” She admits, a lot more open than 3 months ago.

Takanashi Kiara smiles at this. For all her joking about professing her love for this girl, it does bring a warm feeling inside her when she can truly make her comfortable in her presence. She considers running up and hugging the loner but decides against it as it probably wasn’t what Mori needed right now. For now, she just sits there and gives the girl the space she wants.

-=-=-=- Present time -=-=-=-

“Enma’s Hollow.” Says a certain bright-haired girl when looking up to read the karaoke place’s sign. “So it was this place.” She says to no one in particular as she remembers the times she and another girl spent a good amount of their days hanging out here.

“Welcome to Enma’s Hollow, how may I-” greets the black-haired woman at the counter. “Oh? Look who finally decided to show up.” She drops her service voice. “It’s been years Takanashi, how’ve you been? Here I thought you just left ever since 5 years ago when-” She gets cut off.

“Can I have a room?” Takanashi Kiara asks the woman. “Kokoro told me your shift would be over soon and I could talk to you then, Enma.” She tells the part-time manager and band member.

“Of course.” Enma answers. “Don’t worry about the pay this time. This one’s on me. There’s stuff I want to ask you too." Kiara nods at this and visits the room. Of course, the same one from all those years ago. Renovated, yes, but still the same space where many memories were made. She moves to the karaoke machine and selects her first song.

https://youtu.be/lmXrK-PcteY

_“So much for my happy ending  
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh”_

Let it out, Kiara…

_“Let's talk this over  
It's not like we're dead  
Was it something I did?  
Was it something you said?  
Don't leave me hanging  
In a city so dead  
Held up so high on such a breakable thread”_

You know why you’re here…

_“You were all the things I thought I knew  
And I thought we could be~”_

It’s okay to let it all out…

_“You were everything, everything that I wanted  
We were meant to be, supposed to be, but we lost it  
And all of the memories, so close to me, just fade away  
All this time you were pretending  
So much for my happy ending”_

That was in the past, this is now…

_"So much for my happy ending..."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you thought I added Kokoro just as a comic relief character, I'm sorry but I'm not gonna be that simple with this story.  
> Yes, if you were wondering, the karaoke streams were one of my biggest influences in writing this story.
> 
> Song name: "My Happy Ending"  
> Originally by Avril Lavigne, covered by Takanashi Kiara, and clipped by HoloLive Sings


	7. A Woman of Four Colors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The calm one feels before an incoming storm.  
> Mori and the Shinigamis make their debut performance in Tokyo’s Ruby Room.  
> Mori cannot afford to make just a small splash.  
> She’s putting in everything she’s got.  
> She has to, or else…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 10 days after I posted my first ever fanfiction on this website.  
> Now I have two stories, with this one reaching 1.5k hits and 150 kudos.  
> Thank you, now have the next chapter~ <3

A soft static of white noise assaults the ears of everyone awake during this cold, Japanese day. Raindrops could be seen pouring outside as the usual rush of the early morning has turned into a quiet stop as those who unfortunately forgot to bring an umbrella seek shelter under various overhangs and side shops located at every corner of every street. It was as if the entire cityscape of Tokyo had changed overnight, as the cacophony of sounds each droplet made with the asphalt and pavement of the urban landscape drowned out the footsteps of those desperate to catch the morning transport. For some, an unfortunate setback, but for one particular individual, a comforting welcome to their morning rise.

Mori Calliope emerges from beneath her bed’s warm embrace. Her head aching a bit as the alcohol she decided to drink last night takes its toll on the woman’s comfort. Awoken by a default alarm jingle on her phone, the soon to debut rapper turns off technology’s call and walks to the restroom to face the long day. Splashing her face with water from the sink, the lead singer takes a moment to view her reflection in the mirror. A pale face that one could call pretty, long pink hair extending past the mirror’s lower frame and flowing past the girl’s shoulders, and dark-pink eyes burning with determination. This was her, Mori Calliope. A perfect identity she’s worked so hard to achieve, and tonight is when she’ll make it known to the rest of the world. 

**_*BRR BRR*_ **

Her phone vibrates at the side of the sink, a white and blue icon depicting a bird indicating that it was from Twitter. Drying her face with a towel, Mori moves to her living quarters and lounges on the couch to catch up on the latest social buzz. Opening the notification revealed what she’d immediately expected. A quote retweet by @grider_guitar regarding her own recent announcement of their band’s physical debut. Scrolling up, she eventually also sees another tweet. This time by @kokorobeats, telling their Tokyo based fans to come by and see them where they’ll be performing tonight in Shibuya. Both tweets barely totaled to 60 likes however, which was less than Mori’s own amounting to 87. They weren’t big yet, so it wasn’t that surprising that those were their current numbers. They’ve just been getting by with Kokoro’s uploading of various cover songs they’ve done in the past of bands like P!ATD and MCR on an underperforming Youtube channel. But that should change tonight. No, it will change. It has to. There’s nothing else that Mori Calliope wants to live for. Everything’s riding on their success. This was the one path she chose to live. Soon, they’ll gain more following by streaming online, and then after that their first album will drop. If all her hard work ends up amounting to nothing, then… why even bother anymore? She puts the thought at the back of her mind for now and switches to liking and retweeting a couple more artworks done by their fans using #callilust.

Another notification appears on the top part of the phone’s screen. This time, it’s another text message from Enma. This one reads “Just reminding you about tonight. I know how much this means to you, so I won’t tell you to take it easy. You’ve put in more than enough effort, and I’m sure the old man would be proud if he could see you now. Regarding that last song you’re still working on, I’ve looked it over and I do agree that there’s still some improvements you could make to the piece. We’ve already discussed this the other night, so I’ll just tell you that maybe you should try a different approach with this one. I suggest you keep your mind off it for now and focus on what’s in front of you, but I do think that you’ll be finding that different approach tonight, whether you like it or not.”

“Huh, well that’s new.” Mori Calliope says out loud. Since when did Enma start making vague predictions about her writing process? Whatever it is, she takes the manager’s advice and focuses on the day ahead. She moves to her workspace to review the sheets she’s written for the songs she’s finished, and the singular sheet still left unfinished. Looking over her life’s work another time, Mori reads the words she’s embedded her various emotions and desires into, which brings back certain memories of a bright-haired girl who helped her realize her true passion in life.

-=-=-=- 5 years, 7 months ago -=-=-=-

_“Gonna take a first-class master V to blast me  
Humans, come at me, I'm "masochistic" actually  
Huh... whatever that means. (Nani?)  
Yes, whatever that means  
Come a little closer, Kusotori  
Then laugh at me!”_

“HA↑HA↓HA↗HA↘HA→” A laugh comes from across the room as Takanashi Kiara can be seen clutching her stomach and banging her fist on the desk in the singer’s own room. She howls with laughter that doesn’t stop for at least a minute. “HA↙HA↓HA↑HA↗.” 

The pink-haired girl standing in the center of the room just lets her palm get to know her face very well for the proceeding wave of fighting game combo inputs done through vocal stimuli, because of course for some gods forsaken reason that’s something that the shit bird is capable of. Where did she even get that from anyway? No way that’s someone’s normal laugh.

“HA←HA→HA↖HA↗HA↓” She keeps going. At this point Mori Calliope just turns off the background music she made with the orange-haired girl playing through the bird’s smartphone. Mori was grateful for Kiara’s help with her songwriting. She’s never had any access to technology past the era of the fax machine and some old arcade cabinets that weren’t dead yet. Not that she was ungrateful of her Sensei – he’s too nice to ever hold anything against – but it was finally nice to have at least some of the resources needed to start pursuing what she wanted in her life. Yeah, maybe she should tell Kiara that. It’d probably be one of the only things that can stop that dreaded mating call and/or animal death noise.

“You done yet, Kusotori?” Mori Calliope addresses the now out-of-breath girl. “It was your idea to put that in the song anyway. Did it really hit you that hard?” She lowers her palm and crosses her arms, waiting for the girl to sit up from her lying down position in her bed as she rolls around in silent laughter. “If you won’t stop, I won’t tell you how thankful I am.” Mori says with a smile and a hand on her hip, causing the foreign girl to halt rolling and actually sit up. Takanashi Kiara stares at the aspiring rapper for a moment. “Thought that would work.” Mori smirks. 5 whole months with this girl has taught her enough about how her brain works. Unbeknownst to the future band member however, Kiara was actually staring at the obvious reddening in the pink-haired girl’s cheeks. An obvious sign of her deepest emotions directed towards the starry-eyed girl. Kiara smirks back.

-=-=-=- Present Time -=-=-=-

**_*BRR BRR*_ **

Another notification snaps Mori Calliope out from her thoughts, subconsciously wiping away a strange wet trail flowing down her cheek. That’s strange. She closed the windows, didn’t she? “From Rider?” She reads the name telling the source of the message. “Huh.” She says after reading its contents. “He just won’t take a hint, will he?” She turns off the smart device, tapping the unlit screen twice to bring up the time 8:00 am for a second until it fades again. Mori turns her head to the bottle of red wine still standing at her kitchen counter and considers taking a shot.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

“Would you like a flower my dear?” Mori Calliope turns her head to face the voice. “They’re rather beautiful for this kind of weather.” The old woman watching the flower shop says under the sound of raindrops. “A pretty flower for a pretty lady.” The woman smiles, making the wrinkles indicating her age all the more obvious.

“What are these flowers?” Mori asks, lifting her umbrella a bit to get a view of the selection. The pink-haired girl inspects the plants and sees a dozen beautiful clusters of individual petals grown into individual flowers round like a hemisphere. She sees four different colors present that the old woman is showing her. Blue, white, pink, and purple.

“They’re hydrangeas.” The old woman tells her. “A beautiful Japanese bloom of many meanings, also called ajisai. The blue ones even tell a story of an emperor’s apology to a neglected lover.” She tells the lead singer. “What color do you like?” She asks the pink-haired girl.

“I…” Mori didn’t know what to say. She never was one for the symbolism behind flowers. If she had to be honest, she’d tell the woman that she thinks all of them are pretty. “I’m not interested right now. I have to go somewhere.” She tells the elder florist. “They’re all beautiful though. I’d love any of them.” She admits.

“As I thought.” The senior says. “You have that look on your face that says there’s a lot going on inside that pretty little head.” She chuckles. “When you’ve lived as long as I have, you start to get a sense of all the trivial problems the youth think are so distressing.” A short laugh escapes her. “You are a woman of four colors, and your indecision is indicative of your thoughts. Learn to be true to yourself, dear. Take it from someone who’s had many regrets in their long life.” And with that the old woman turns to walk back into the shop, leaving the pink-haired girl in light confusion.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

“A good night to you too, Tokyo. How’re you all doing this humid evening in Shibuya? Enjoying the drinks? Chatting with friends? Getting it on behind closed doors?” The voice of an announcer echoes through Ruby Room’s speaker system. The red and orange lights pointed towards the small stage at the corner of the nightlife establishment certainly earning it its name. “Tonight has been a wonderful night for new talents as a second band makes their first performance in our lovely hall. The all-girl western group of VShojo earlier certainly got us all excited with the dragoness drummer Zentreya herself finally contributing her talents to a cause, as well as the devil with the voice an angel, IronMouse, blowing us all away with her singing, but let’s all see how this next group follows up on that hype-inducing performance. Will they rock us all out of our seats too? Ladies and gentlemen, I give you, the Shinigamis!”

This is it; Mori Calliope says to herself. The big night, and what you’ve always wanted. You can’t fail this. You have to succeed. Nothing else matters. 6 years of hard work, 5 years on your own. Don’t get distracted, everything rides on this. **This is everything your pathetic life will ever amount to anyway.** And the band starts to play. Sensei, Requiem, Ghost, and Versteckt sound as one, making their mark on this world.

https://youtu.be/6ydgEipkUEU

_“Dead Beats, lurking now, Dead Beats, lurking now  
Dead Beats, lurking now, Dead Beats, lock it down 3x  
(This song makes no sense)  
Gettin' kinda "stir-crazy, " you heard this  
I wonder what the meaning of "lazy" or life without work is  
Kawaii shinigami at your service  
Mark your enemies, and I'll show them what hurt is!”_

Good start. Everything’s going as planned. Mori Calliope’s focused. There’s nothing in the world that can stop her. A quick glance at the packed audience tells her that they’re listening intently. Good.

_“All ya really gotta do is sign on the dotted line  
It's probably fine, right? Sike! Your soul is mine  
It's all good, being a Dead Beat's got benefits  
We'll be "best friends, " that's the end of it”_

The audience is moving. They’re moving to the beat. It’s working; Mori thinks. But that’s to be expected, what she needs to see is true excitement.

_“We'll lock it down!  
So when you bitches need me, call!  
(By your side with my scythe and red wine)  
I'll make 'em wish they never lived at all!  
(I'll fuck 'em up, Gucci?)  
Just leave it all to us, 'cause in the end  
We on another level, when the dust settles:  
An actual scene outta hell”_

There it is. Raised drinks, brief shouts, and hyped movement. Everyone’s starting to feel it. Mori takes another look at the audience. All of them nameless faces that get to know who she is. Now, more people will know Mori Calliope – reaper or rapper. Lead singer of the Shinigamis. That would be completely true, until she spots a familiar set of bright-orange hair and magenta eyes smiling at her from the back of the room. She’s here?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Emotions start to stir.  
> Hearts start to move.  
> Fan the flame, or let it burn out?  
> Keep following this story and see..  
> :)
> 
> How'd you like the inclusion of the language of flowers? I certainly had fun revisiting that topic for this chapter.


	8. Encore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A much needed conversation is had.  
> Two hearts beat for an encore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic has now caught up to the halfway point I have in my notes.  
> I can't say for certain yet if that means I have a definitive chapter count to give, but narratively it has reached that point.

Applause echoes throughout the enclosed space of the nightlife establishment located in Shibuya, Tokyo. The shimmering red lights refracting through the glass of various cups, mugs, and alcohol bottles filled to the brim with wine. On the small corner stage to be viewed by all who would be interested to witness, a group of 4 can be seen giving courteous bows and delighted waves to their audience. The Shinigamis were well received, it seems. The cheers last for more than a minute. Kokoro standing up from his drums to wave at the people and Griffin raising a fist to the air.

The woman playing the bass, however, walks up and puts a hand on the shoulder of the girl at the front of it all. “Congratulations. You made your first sprint.” She snaps the lead singer out from the trance that is actual praise. “You did well, kid. I’d say they thought so too.” Enma faces the still cheering audience. “He’d definitely be proud. That old man was a sappy sucker after all.” The manager cracks a joke. “How’s it feel? Making the first step?” She raises the question.

“…” Mori Calliope still couldn’t get her head around it. She barely notices the mentor figure’s presence beside her, still in awe of actually being acknowledged for all her hard work. “Sensei…” She mentions the name. “Do you see me?” She softly asks under her breath. A bit of moisture clouding her eyes that she swears is because of the tinted lights. “I’ve made my start.” She stares into the crowd. An ocean of unknown identities. Nameless faces that now scream their names. That is, all but one.

“THANK YOU, SHIBUYA!!!” Kokoro’s voice booms to meet the audience’s volume, getting a few more people to clap in response. The drummer pumps his own fist up and down, clearly happy to hear the shower of appreciation.

“YOU BETTER REMEMBER US!!!” Griffin’s own voice joins the fray. “The Shinigamis here to stay!” He lifts his red and white guitar up high, the hype obviously getting to him too.

“See, kid?” Enma tells the pink-haired girl. “I told you all that effort would pay off.” She nudges the younger girl in the side. “Why don’t you say something too? This team needs a leader after all.” The black-haired woman suggests. Yeah, she’s right. Mori should say something too. She lifts the mic from its stand.

“Yeah, that’s right!” Mori exclaims into the microphone. “You’ll all do well to remember us!” She lets out. “You’ll all be hearing more from the Shinigamis soon enough!” She shouts towards the audience, more punk threat than proclamation of thanks. However, the following chants of _”Calliope-san!!!”_ , and also, _“Mori-sama!!!”_ , as well as _“Shinigami Sensei!!!”_ seem to indicate that the audience also took well to the edgier attitude, to the smile of one orange-haired girl lurking at the back of the room.

“And that’s the Shinigamis everyone!” The announcer’s voice comes back. “Wow. Well, I’ll be sure to follow that band because I definitely want to hear more of their work. I’m sure many of you feel the same way too, don’t you?” They say as Mori, Enma, Kokoro, and Griffin all walk away from the stage, to the shower of some of the attendants who call their names.

Mori Calliope didn’t know what she felt. Happy? No, that feeling’s a lot warmer. Proud? No, that’s much stronger than this. Relieved? Please, that response only met her expectations, not exceeded them. She could do better. She keeps that train of thought as Kokoro and Griffin split from the group and start interacting with some of the other attendants in Ruby Room. Kokoro giving away a sea of high-fives and Griffin absolutely into the attention some of the women are showing him. Mori and Enma, however, go straight for one attendant in particular.

“Hey, Takanashi.” Enma greets her long-time customer. “I’m glad you could make it to see us.” She tells her. “We already discussed this at the Hollow, so I’ll be leaving you two now. I’m sure we’re gonna be getting a lot of private messages tonight, and I wanna be able to respond to any that’ll lend us a hand. Indie is great and all, but someone to cover one of my other positions would be nice.” She gives Mori a quick glance with a slight smirk, then she lets her hair fall again and exits the establishment.

“Wow, you did great Mori!” Takanashi Kiara congratulates the still confused girl, a lot more energy in her than their last encounter. “I can’t believe you finally got to do this. I’m happy for you, truly.” The orange-haired girl claps. “I’m glad I got to see it.”

“…” Mori Calliope gazes at the old memory for a moment. How was she here? Did Enma tell her about tonight? “Thanks.” Mori briefly states. “It’s appreciated.” She tries to hold her calm. She can’t go letting it down now that there’s so many eyes on her. “Hope you’ll continue supporting us.” She tells her, rather cold.

“I will, don’t worry.” Kiara seemed unfazed though. “I’ve decided to support you as best I can!” She gives the lead singer a smile. Mori didn’t know what next to say to this and pauses for a few seconds, trying to discern if this was really the same Kiara who couldn’t even bear being in the same room as her some nights ago. Does she not remember what happened 5 years ago? **She hates you for that.** “There’s actually something I want to ask you.” The foreign girl breaks the silence. “How would you feel about going out somewhere?” She raises the question. “I heard from Enma that you’ve been working yourself to the night preparing for your album. I thought it might be a good way for you to get a clearer mind for when you do go back to work.” Mori couldn’t understand why she was doing this. Why’s she acting as if nothing ever happened? “It won’t be a date though. Consider it an offer from an old friend.” Kiara keeps up the smile.

“I…” Mori processes the question. So, this was Enma’s idea? Was she the ‘different approach’ the older woman told her about? Of course, Enma would absolutely do that. “Hmm, I dunno. Where do you plan to take me?” She keeps her composure up, refusing to let it fall.

Kiara’s face visibly lights up at this. “You’re considering it?” She waits for a quick nod of confirmation, which Mori gives her. “Yes!” She makes a brief gesture of victory. “Well, it’s a secret~” She gives the taller girl a wink. “It’d ruin the surprise if I tell you now.” She teases the singer, almost the same as the year they first met.

“Hmm, fine.” Mori grumbles out. “Since this was probably also Enma’s idea I suppose it won’t be horrible for me.” She stares into the exit door, mentally accusing the black-haired woman. “When will this happen then?” She turns back to face Kiara.

“One week from now. I’ll come pick you up.” Kiara replies concisely. “Does 11:00 am next Sunday work for you?” She asks Mori, despite probably already knowing her schedule from Enma.

“It does.” Mori fires back. “How long will this take?” She asks her own question.

“We’ll probably be there until mid-afternoon.” Kiara tells her. “I’ll see you again on Sunday, Mori.” Kiara gives the lead singer one last wink and moves further into the establishment. From where she’s headed, looking like she’s going to congratulate Kokoro and Rider as well. The latter man looking like he’s already red-faced drunk around a couple women.

“…” Mori Calliope takes a moment to review what just happened. Did she really want to do this? Why did Kiara suddenly want to act like old buddies again? Whatever it is… Mori shouldn’t be distracted from what she needs to do next. Now they need to periodically raise their online following by streaming some of their songs, per Kokoro’s suggestion.

-=-=-=- 5 years, 5 months ago -=-=-=-

The sounds of sizzling meat and aroma of cooked food fills the room as a picturesque scene takes place this warm, Japanese day. Two figures can be seen seated beside each other, gazing at the skilled chef cooking right in front of them their soon to be delicious meal. Generous helpings of meat, greens, and rice are tossed and turned on the hot metal of the grill as the stomachs of both girls rumble. But a quick flash of fire from the grill makes the pink-haired girl lean back a bit and the orange-haired one look in awe.

“Woah” Mori Calliope blurts out. “That’s our food, right?” She looks towards the other girl, who’s just mouth-watering and patiently awaiting the thick cuts of meat to be done. “I guess that means yes.”

Takanashi Kiara stares at their food. After much pestering, she’d finally convinced the aspiring song artist to take a break and go on a small trip with her. It only took 7 months, but she finally convinced the punk loner to go on a ‘date’ with her, but only by leaving that word out of the conversation. She knows how much her wife hates her bringing her innermost feelings to the surface like that.

“Wow, this is good.” Mori Calliope says in between cuts of meat. “I know I ordered meat, but this is some good shit.” She tells the other girl. Kiara smiling and laughing along with her. She keeps telling herself this, but she really was happy that she managed to get this random girl she met on the street to truly be open to her about herself. In 7 months, she’s managed to bring color into this monochrome girl’s life. There was only one thing left, however, that she still hasn’t told the future band leader.

More hours pass in the day as the two move to go experience the next part of this well-deserved break for the hard-working rapper. Begrudgingly, Mori Calliope ended up being convinced into agreeing to go on a spa vacation. Translation: spa date. The two enter a massage parlor as their next stop and proceed to get their skin taken care of.

“Hey Calli, did you see the aromas they were allowing us to use for free?” Takanashi Kiara asks the pink-haired girl. “Which one did you choose? Mine smelled lovely.” She asks with a smug grin.

“Sandalwood.” Mori says, rubbing her eye a little from when the masseuse accidentally got some facial cream in there. “You?” She asks Kiara.

“I also chose Sandalwood!” Kiara beams at her. “We’re really just meant to be together, huh Calli?~” She teases the now blushing girl. 

“Shut up, Kusotori!” Mori covers her cheeks with her hand. She will NOT let this girl win her over. “Let’s just go back to the lounge now, okay? You look like you’re tired already.” She says while looking at how the starry-eyed girl sometimes wobbles a bit in her posture. “You know you could’ve just slept through the massage. You didn’t have to force yourself to stay awake.” She tells her with genuine concern.

Going back to the lounge and eventually to where the place the two girls were staying at, Mori and Kiara enjoy the last sunlight hours of the day. The two stare in silence for a bit as they gaze into the beautiful scene of the sky turning a different shade as the sun slowly sets below the horizon. Despite what Mori can sometimes say, she really was grateful for her time spent with this endearingly annoying girl. She feels as if things can only go up with Kiara by her side.

Eventually, Kiara insists that the two go for a dip in the nearby onsen. Mori was prepared to defend her dignity at the thought of Kiara being in the same changing room as her, but to her the surprise the normally outgoing girl made no moves this time. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Mori finishes changing and goes in.

“Woah, Calli.” Kiara mumbles out, laughing a bit after seeing the pink-haired girl. “I didn’t think you would be the type to wear white.” She tries to contain her chuckles.

“Oh, shut up.” Mori blushes a little, though she would blame the hot air for that rather than her own heart. “Yours…” Mori stares at the girl walking up beside her. “Why does yours dip down, huh?” She fails to make a comeback, badly.

“Like what you see?” Oops, you fell right into that one, chief. “HA↑HA↓HA↗HA↘HA→” There’s that laugh again. “That’s not very seiso, dear Calli~” She teases the hot mess. “Normally I’d be embarrassed to show you but if you’re so insistent…” She tries to break the girl even more, aware of her inner feelings towards the annoying chicken.

“Fine! Do it, you coward!” Mori lets out, badly hiding her flushed cheeks. “Actually wait! Since it’s you I might have a problem.” She quickly corrects her own thoughts.

“HA↙HA↓HA↑HA↗” Kiara laughs, absolutely entertained by Mori’s cuteness. “I love you too, Calli~” She tells her, the other side not even attempting to respond.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A somewhat happy chapter :)


	9. What Would I Be Without You, I Wonder?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A memory of an ideal.  
> Kiara takes Mori out on their not date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided to sprint this fic into completion.  
> I hope you're all ready for the ride.  
> Because I'm about to stop pulling my punches.  
> :)

-=-=-=- 5 years, 3 months ago -=-=-=-

Two girls, one bench. Staring up at the beautiful nighttime sky. Its stars shimmering in all their astral fire and cosmic luminance. One girl leans on the other, and the other takes their head on their shoulder. Not a single thing in the world right now could separate the two. Their love for each other all the warmth they need during this cold, starry night. They sit in silence for a while. Who knows what they could be thinking? Something cliché like their place in the universe, perhaps? Or maybe they could just be enjoying each other’s company. Because what’s so wrong with that? Eventually though, the more starry-eyed of the two addresses the other.

“It’s pretty, isn’t it?” She asks while tilting her head a bit to still be leaning on the other figure. “I know it’s been said a billion times already by now, but the stars really are beautiful, aren’t they Calli?” Takanashi Kiara asks the object of her affection.

“They are, I suppose.” Mori Calliope answers her, also staring up into the infinite expanse of the universe. “But…” She pauses for a few seconds, as if holding back what she wants to say next. “But not as b-beautiful as y-you?” She stutters and stumbles on her words, her entire face turning a bright shade of red that one might mistake for a stoplight in this darkness lit only by moonlight.

“Pffffft…” The orange-haired girl desperately fails to hold in a laugh. Instead, only tightening her grip on the taller girl’s arm. “That’s so cheesy, Calli! HA↑HA↓HA↗HA↘HA↑” She buries her face in her girlfriend’s neck. Mori doesn’t seem to mind though. “Who knew the dark and cool Calli would make for such a mess of a girlfriend!?” Kiara manages to say in between laughter.

“S-shut up!” Mori buries her face in her palm. Praying to some random god that she can spontaneously gain the power to rewind time to save her face. “I-I’m not good at this whole being lovers thing, okay!?” She tries to hold it in for a few seconds until she breaks into laughter herself. “God, I’m such a dork...” She tilts her own head to rest on Kiara.

“But you’re my dork~” Kiara replies, causing a brief pause to fall in between the two. If the moon could fall and instantaneously destroy the Earth, Mori would want it to happen right now.

“Pfft…” Nah, Mori doesn’t actually want that. “Who’re you calling cheesy again?” She wouldn’t dare wish for her time with her girlfriend to be cut short. If she could, she’d want to live an eternity with her as two immortal beings. But that’s just wishful thinking. No way someone could be immortal and still be in love with this idiot.

“Us, we’re cheesy.” Kiara answers her. “Hi cheesy, I’m Kiara. Girlfriend of the dorkiest rapper in the world! HA↑HA↓HA↗” Okay, that’s it. Mori stands up, not willing to put up with this anymore.

“Yeah, well I’m Mori Calliope! Girlfriend of the loudest, most annoying, most persistent girl who just refused to leave me alone for 9 whole months! And I actually managed to fall in love with her too!? Look at me! To think I was actually charmed by this bir- this bitc- this beAUTIFUL GIRL, GUH!!!” Mori clumsily fails to insult the now hollering Kiara. “I can’t…” Mori admits defeat.

Kiara’s laughing at this point was too much for this world to handle. If an unfortunate author somewhere in the world right now had to write down every single combo input done by her voice, they would be writing for eternity. But thankfully that author also loves to use exaggeration. “HA↓…” Kiara HA↑’s her last HA↗. She sits up from her position on the bench, that’s now been hammered with the force of 10,000 meteor strikes that was Kiara’s fist. The brightly haired girl sitting up to face her lover once again. “I love you, Calli.” Mori Calliope doesn’t try to hide the reddening in her cheeks this time, for she knew she loved her too.

-=-=-=- Present Time -=-=-=-

Tears. A blank ceiling, and blurry eyes. Gradually, all those eyes could see was the water starting to well from behind them. An aching in the chest, and a pull at the throat. Mori Calliope wakes up this morning, crying. Her hair a mess, her heart no less. For a memory long since passed came rushing back to her in her dreams. Her love, her warmth, her smile, and that damn laugh. If only things had stayed that way. If only she didn’t say the things she said 5 ye-

**_*BRR BRR*_ **

Another text from Enma. Mori had learned to expect them at this point. Sitting up, she wipes away the things that don’t matter anymore from her face. Leaning to where she put her phone, this time not on the kitchen counter, she turns on the device and reads the message. “We’re in. Cover Corp has agreed to act as the producer for the album. They saw the popularity of the three songs that were streamed this week. RIP, ReaperかRapper?, and Dead Beats ended up getting enough views for them to give us the ok. You and Kokoro really hit it out of the park with the videos. Motoaki Tanigo himself even sent me a personalized e-mail telling me of the great things he expects us to do. Can you believe that? I guess when your idol dream dies, you try the next best thing on the roster. The album’s release is still another week’s off from now so with the progress you’ve made on that last song, I wouldn’t worry about not being able to make it. Congratulations on all of you getting verified accounts too. I saw that, even though I don’t use that toxic cesspool of a social media site. Get some rest today. You have that plan with Takanashi too. I’ll be leaving you in her care for today.”

“Yeah, that’s today…” Mori stands from her bed. Looking out the window for a second to see a bright, sunny day. She checks her phone’s time and reads 7:04 am. It’s still an entire morning before she arrives, although she gets the feeling that the fast-food worker woke up early this morning and is probably wide awake right now and just a walk’s away from where Mori currently is.

Mori gets ready for the day and keeps up with her morning routine. As much as she begrudgingly tries to spite Enma’s advice, she had to admit that her tips were actually helping her clear her mind a lot from its usual turmoil. The band leader makes herself a quick breakfast, ignores another drunken message from a certain guitarist who most likely hooked up with another woman last night, and proceeds to face the day ahead of her. Although sometimes she also just stares at the door to her apartment, waiting for a certain someone to call from the other side.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

**_*knock knock*_ **

Takanashi Kiara knocks on the door to where she was told Mori Calliope lives. Patiently waiting for the other side to respond, she fidgets around for a bit and adjusts her hat. She’s seeing her again after all. Gotta make sure it works this time. She tells herself. She didn’t have to wait long however, as the lock could be heard being undone and the door opening to reveal the new hit artist on the other side.

“Are we going to go now, or is there something you need to tell me still?” The woman on the other side asks her. Shades donned, a black bonnet on her head, and wearing the appropriate clothes for a day out. Well, other than the cloth mask that also obscures her face.

“Isn’t it customary to let your guest in first before you start discussing?” Kiara asks her own question. Getting no verbal response from the rapper but was allowed entry anyway by her opening the door all the way and letting her go inside.

Mori watches as the girl from her dreams just walks into her apartment and takes a look around as if inspecting it for anything similar to the room she lived in before with her Sensei. She just observes Kiara for a moment until the orange-haired girl eyes a certain part of one of the walls of the room. Mori moves inside to check what got the girl’s attention and sees her staring at a black and white electric guitar with repeating skull decals hung on display in the quaint apartment space.

“It’s his.” Kiara says, Mori knowing that she also remembers the instrument’s owner. He and the girl got along quite well after all. “Your Sensei always loved playing us some of his old work on that thing.” Kiara recalls. “I suppose the musician in him got passed on to you, after all.” She turns to face Mori. “I wanna meet him again too, sometime. But maybe after we’ve got more of our things sorted.” Kiara smiles, unaware of the sudden, tense air around Mori when discussing that old memory. “I still know how to play that because of him. I haven’t touched one in years, but I could probably do it again if I try. He taught me well. Being around you two a lot kinda got me to get into playing too.” She tries to reach out and touch the guitar, but a hand on her wrist stops her from making contact.

“Let’s go.” Mori lets go of her grip. “Wherever you plan to take us, let’s go there now.” Mori turns away from the girl and starts to walk out of the apartment. Kiara shortly following after her. A slight confusion on her face, but still hopeful for some things that once existed between the two to come back.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

“Woooooow!” Takanashi Kiara gapes as she marvels at the urban wonder that was their destination. She knew she wanted to take the rapper here to help with her overbearing work ethic, but part of her also just wanted to see this grand and marvelous feat of urban engineering herself. “Oh, uh. Tadaaah!” She almost forgot to tell Mori that they’d reached their destination. “I, Takanashi Kiara, welcome you, Mori Calliope, to the grand tour of the Tokyo Skytree!” As she says that last part, Mori Calliope looks up herself and gazes at the overwhelmingly tall metal structure. The Tokyo Skytree. One of the tallest feats of engineering in all of Japan, and definitely one of the biggest highlights of the Tokyo experience. “Today, I’ll be your guide in charge of making sure that you get the time-off you need to go back to work with a clear head. So, bear with me.” Kiara gives her a smile.

“Oh, yeah. Sure.” Mori answers back. Despite living in Japan, she hasn’t actually ever been inside the famous landmark. She never had a reason to. Any time spent in there was time that could be spent working on her songs. “I guess that’s why Enma agreed with this so much.” She says, cold. “Fine, let’s go in already.” She suggests, rather blunt. Yet Kiara doesn’t seem fazed by this attitude exuded by the new big hit star.

The Skytree was truly a sight to behold both from outside and inside the structure. A magnificent achievement of Japanese urbanization. A metal spire, ten times as tall as some buildings. Looking at it from ground level, one might think it’s a recreation of the Tower of Babel used to try and reach the gods. However, looking towards the outside while inside the Skytree was another sight to behold entirely. Slightly above the middle of the structure, there’s a reverse cone wrapping around the central spire. Inside this part of the landmark are multiple viewing areas with windows covering nearly the entire circular wall that angle down so that one could look below into the now dwarfed cityscape of Tokyo. Two of these gazers are a set of brightly haired women. Takanashi Kiara absolutely marveling at the sight of Tokyo so small in comparison, while Mori Calliope quietly gazes far into the horizon, trying to see where exactly the line between sky and city falls. They weren’t the only ones there, however. There were plenty of other visitors of the Skytree, as with most tourist attractions on most days.

“How big of a smash would it be if I ground pound you from all the way up here?” Mori could overhear one of the other people in the viewing area asking another visitor. “Assuming Mario Odyssey logic of course.” The attendant appears to be another foreign woman. She looks to be British or at least dresses like one. A quick glance at her will show you that she has blonde hair and blue eyes and seems to be visiting with two other girls today.

“I swear that game has changed you for the worst Amelia…” One of the other girls speaks up. This one shorter than the other two, with white hair containing streaks of blue and wearing a blue hoodie. “I suggested you play it because it might calm you down after playing FPS games all day, but now I see I may have done something worse…” The short girl sighs in defeat.

“I don’t see the problem though.” The last of the three could be heard speaking up. “Nothing beats a ground pound~” The dark-haired girl chuckles, clearly enjoying herself.

“See, Ina agrees with me.” The blonde one faces the short one. “I don’t even know what you’re talking about, Gura. I don’t need to calm down from playing FPS games. I’m not even toxic anymore!”

“You’re pretty toxic.” The one known as Gura states bluntly. “I walked into you screeching and hitting your desk with the controller twelve times in like two seconds.” She tells a personal anecdote. “Desk-kun’s hp has hit the negatives by now.” She makes an inside joke.

“Humu humu…” The quiet one nods her head in agreement to this. Outnumbered it seems, the blonde one clutches her chest and accepts defeat.

“But I’m not toxic…” Amelia lies to herself.

Mori Calliope didn’t know why she was listening in on this friend group’s conversation. The three never talked about anything she’s personally interested in in their friendly banter. They even kept going on about the blonde one’s apparently gremlin tendencies. Laughing a lot in their recounting of moments together. The loner never tried to make friends, and the only one that she let in got pushed away once. What Mori didn’t know, however, was that deep down she desired those types of connections. Arbitrary moments where you just goof off with the people you know. Talking about silly things and making meaningless conversation. She never had that with anyone other than Kiara, who she always had to watch out for with her constant flirting. Maybe, if only, in another life, Mori could’ve experienced those kinds of joys too with her own group of friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _"In another life  
>  I would be your girl  
> We'd keep all our promises  
> Be us against the world~"_
> 
> 2nd arc done.  
> Now we're on the home stretch.


	10. Rising From The Ashes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Work has been going really well for Kiara.  
> She has a kouhai now, and was even called by her manager to talk about something important.  
> Things feel like they're going really well for the aspiring Tenchou.  
> What's Mori up to?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for following Dead She Beats My Heart  
> Now, I will be writing the final third of this fanfiction  
> You'll all get your answers, soon~  
> :)

“Takanashi-senpai!” The voice of a young girl standing in front of the deep fryer of a specific fast-food restaurant calls for her senior. “Can you teach me how to do this part again? I don’t want to mess it up this time.” The tall girl stares at the alien contraption used to make the fried chicken the restaurant is famous for. Her blue-green eyes dilating, and her long, white hair tied up high to prevent contamination.

“Of course, Reine.” Takanashi Kiara moves to the frightened girl’s side. “You just have to put the chicken in here, lift it up, then…” She proceeds to give the younger girl instructions on how to work the device. Kiara enjoyed this part of the job. It’s been a bit longer than a week, and she could barely call herself a senior, but a lot of the other employees have ended up opening up to the hard-working girl. Because of this, the new hires, like Pavolia Reine, immediately looked to her for guidance on working effectively on the job. Kokoro only barely met the requirements to stay employed here after all, so there wasn’t really much competition. “Do you get it now?” She asks the junior employee, who nods and thanks her senior.

“Hey, Kiara.” Kokoro walks into the room, calling for the orange-haired girl’s name. “Manager wants to see you. She says she’s got something important to tell you.” The drummer of the Shinigamis and other coworker tells her. “I really don’t want to sound rude, but can you also get over there right now? That duck won’t stop bothering all of us working at the front…” He complains, then slowly turns to begrudgingly walk back to his position at the front counter. Kiara following shortly after him.

Working at a fast-food restaurant was something Takanashi Kiara always wanted. After settling her arrangements in Japan, she got lucky and managed to get employed in one of the biggest named franchises in the country. Every day she got to serve customers her best rendition of the American-made recipe, seeing the happy faces of kids and adults alike when taking a bite of the delicious chicken made with 11 secret herbs and spices this fine night. Walking out to see the service happening for a moment, Kiara could see Reine’s close friends, Ollie and Anya, snacking on the spicy chicken meal. Those two often came here to tease the young kouhai, though sometimes there would be some arguments about if Reine’s chicken was better than Ollie’s family’s ramen sold at their place’s new ramen store. Apparently, Ollie’s family accidentally turned their home into a ramen shop. Kiara doesn’t know how, why, or when, and hasn’t tried to ask how that could even happen. Whenever the topic of which food was better was brought up, however, Anya would be seen going back to their table and just tapping on her phone, rolling on the gacha games installed on it. Eventually, Kiara entered the manager’s room, and the woman at the desk greeted her entrance with a wave.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

“Yes, ma’am! I won’t let you down!” Takanashi Kiara stands from her seat and bows to her manager, who gives her a clap before she dismisses the employee from the room. Now, she was simple employee no more. Kiara has just been promoted to the grand position of assistant manager. Happy as can be, she hops back to the staff room to get a well-deserved respite. Sitting and winding down from the busy night.

“Seems like it finally happened.” Kokoro enters the room shortly after her. “You’ve barely been here for more than a week, and you already managed to climb through the ranks.” He didn’t need Kiara to tell him what happened, the girl’s genuine smile all that was needed to discern the events that unfolded earlier. “Told you they’d notice you soon enough.” He says as he sits on his own chair.

“I know, right!?” Kiara responds, giddy as can be. “It feels like only yesterday when I first came back to Japan. Things are only going up for Takanashi Kiara!” The new assistant manager makes a victory pose with her arm in the air.

“And also, when you met Sensei again.” Kokoro reminds her. The two have bonded quite a bit during their time working together, so Kiara wasn’t all that caught off guard by the drummer mentioning the topic. “What’s going on between you two now, anyway? Any new developments?” he asks.

“I actually think I’m making a lot of progress.” Kiara tells the man, pulling out her phone to show something to him. “I even managed to convince her to give me her number too.” Kokoro views the contact and sees a couple of short but encouraging messages intended to motivate the rapper. None of them were replied to, though.

“Huh, well I guess that’s Sensei for you.” Kokoro blurts out. “Though I guess that’s better than my own tries. You at least have had all your messages seen. Mine don’t even get read after a few hours to maybe a whole day.” He leans back in his chair, staring at the ceiling. He pauses for a while, as if thinking carefully about what to say next. He’s known Kiara for enough time now. She’s let herself open up enough for him to get an idea of who she is. He takes a deep breath, inhaling for more than a second, and forms the question he wants to ask. “What were you two, Kiara? I’ve always had a feeling, but I want to hear it come from you.” He looks back down to meet his now superior’s eyes. Kiara takes a few seconds to process what he’d just asked. Will she answer?

“Heh…” Kiara scratches her cheek. “I suppose I don’t try all that much to hide it…” Her cheeks flush for a moment. She was comfortable talking about Mori with Kokoro. She truly sees him as a friend by now. Someone who saw through her attempted cover-ups and failures to save face. But that doesn’t make saying what she says next any less embarrassing for her. “Mor-” She cuts herself off. “Calli and I were girlfriends…” She finally admits it. “We dated after getting to know each other for a while.” She smiles. “At first she was so opposed to the idea, as tsundere as someone could be, but something deep down inside me wanted to just break through that tough girl exterior of her and gaze at the lovable dork within.” She smiles, warm from remembrance. “I think I still like her too…” She holds a hand to her chest. “I wanna try bringing that back.” She tells her listener. “But I know it won’t happen that fast. I have to get her to open up again just like how I did before…” Her expression softens.

“I thought it might be that.” Kokoro forms his own smile. “And don’t worry about me. I’m totally cool with you going for her.” He reassures the girl. “Sensei needs some light in her life, and I think you’re the only one who’s likely to shine through to her.” But his expression turns a bit more serious when saying this next line. “So why were you crying then?” He asks. “What went wrong?”

“Oh, that…” Kiara thinks for a moment, as if just now remembering something she didn’t want to. “We… disagreed on something…” She tells her senior. “I… I’m not comfortable talking about this yet, I’m sorry…” Tears start to well from behind her eyes.

“No, it’s okay.” Kokoro reassures her. “It’s fine. I might’ve been a bit too forward with that one, sorry…” The other employee apologizes. “Just know that you’re not alone here, okay? There’s me, even though I might not be the best at this sort of thing and even Enma, who’s taken a real liking to you.” He changes the subject.

“Thanks, Kokoro.” Kiara wipes her tears. “It means a lot. I’m grateful, truly.” She gives him a smile. Afterwards she turns to look at the clock. “It’s time to close up. Let’s get moving, employee!” She regains her usual enthusiasm. “I won’t tolerate any inefficient procedures!”

“I guess you’re technically my boss now too…” Kokoro stands up from his chair, accepting his new reality. The two then do their nightly routine of closing the shop. Mutually deciding to talk about that last subject another time, they move with Kiara’s rigorous instruction, and proceed to go on their merry way.

-=-=-=- 5 years, 1 month ago -=-=-=-

“Hey, Calli.” A girl with bright orange hair asks the girl laying down beside her on a bed in a specific room. “I have something to tell you.” She giggles a bit and hugs the other’s arm.

“What is it, Kusotori?” Mori Calliope asks Takanashi Kiara. “Are you joking about getting married again?” She jabs at the other girl. “I know we’re together now and everything, but even I’m not ready for that yet.” She says, even though a blush has made itself obvious on her cheeks.

“Nah, it’s not that.” Kiara confirms the topic. “I have a little surprise for you~” She moves closer on the bed to be in more physical contact with Mori. “But you’ll have to wait though. It’s not ready yet.” She tells her girlfriend. “I’ll be ready to tell you next month.” She whispers quietly in the rapper’s ear, her lips dangerously close to the other girl’s skin, making Mori turn even redder.

“Okay, fine!” Mori turns her head a bit to escape the hot situation. Wait, did she just think that was hot? “Keep your secrets…” She pouts, causing Kiara to giggle beside her. “What?” Mori faces her love.

“You’re just so cute, Calli~” Kiara gives her a wink across the bed. “I love you.” She tells the pink-haired girl.

“I… lo… ve….” Mori blushes even harder, seemingly incapable of finishing the sentence, only turning Kiara’s giggles into another hollering laugh. Why did she fall in love with this bird again? Oh yeah, she’s a clumsy mess when around her. “Hehe…” Mori starts to join in on the laughter, making fun of her romantic failures together. God, she hopes this’ll last forever. She doesn’t know what her life would be like without this girl, who just randomly decided to follow her on the street and change her life. She smiles, for even if she can’t say it out loud, she truly loved Takanashi Kiara.

-=-=-=- Present Time -=-=-=-

Darkness. A blank street. Just one figure, standing in front of an old and abandoned home. A bottle of alcohol in her hand, and tears flowing down her cheek. The memories of times passed rushing back to her head. Both a love that couldn’t last and a family that couldn’t stay. She takes a swig and talks to the home, as if believing there was somehow still someone there who could hear her voice.

“Hey, Sensei.” She repeats. “I came by again to tell you that we’re really doing it.” She pauses for the other side. No response. “Did you see us?” She asks the silence. “We’re gonna make it big soon. Enma got us a deal with some big names.” Another pause. “This is what you wanted too, right? To see someone, make the dream you never got to live.” She takes another drink. “Thanks for watching over us, I swear I’ll pay it back soon.” She takes another pause, and then starts to sing a short part of a song. _“In another life I would make you stay…”_

-=-=-=- 14 years ago -=-=-=-

Mori Calliope didn’t know why she agreed to go with this man. He’s old, lives alone, and doesn’t even look like he has the money to take care of her. His house was dusty, doesn’t even have a tv, and the only thing that seems to be functional in the place was the black and white electric guitar he sometimes plays songs with. At least in the orphanage she got to hang out with other kids, even though most of them were several years younger than her and too easy to pick on. All the adults wanted cute and young anyway, and she was neither. They don’t want a 10-year-old girl with an attitude if they can choose an innocent 5-year-old sweetheart.

“You’re wondering why I chose you?” the old man asks the child. “I could tell you, but you’d have to sit down and listen to a song.” There he goes again. Another riddle as if a child could figure that out. He’s always like this. Old, sappy, and doesn’t tell her anything clearly. But having nothing else to do, the young Mori sits down and watches as the man plugs in his instrument and starts to play a song. “I wasn’t always alone. So, I’ll tell you a story with this song…” Mori could swear she saw a dampness in the man’s eyes yet didn’t say anything as the man started to sing.

https://youtu.be/Aro4UBXVa-c

_“Summer after high school when we first met  
We'd make out in my Mustang to Radiohead  
And on your 18th birthday we got matching tattoos  
Used to steal your parents' liquor and climb to the roof  
Talk about our future like we had a clue  
Never plan that one day I'd be losing you”_

He seems sad, Mori thinks.

_“In another life you would be my girl  
We'd keep all our promises, be us against the world  
In another life I would make you stay  
So I don't have to say you were the one that got away  
The one that got away”_

The old man continues playing

_“You were dreaming I was your Johnny Cash  
Never one without the other we made a pact  
Sometimes when I miss you I put those records on  
Someone said you had your tattoo removed  
Saw you downtown singing the blues  
It's time to face the music I'm no longer your muse”_

_“But in another life you would be my girl  
We'd keep all our promises, be us against the world  
In another life I would make you stay  
So I don't have to say you were the one that got away  
The one that got away”_

The man’s eyes start to flow with tears. It’s as if he’s remembering something, or someone, through his song.

_“All this money can't buy me a time machine, no  
I can't replace you with a million rings, no  
I should've told you what you meant to me, whoa  
'Cause now I pay the price”_

Did he lose someone close to him? Mori was still a child, so she couldn’t put together thought as fast, but the man’s emotions were starting to make her feel empathy.

_“In another life you would be my girl  
We'd keep all our promises, be us against the world  
In another life I would make you stay  
So I don't have to say you were the one that got away  
The one that got away…”_

Mori didn’t know why at the time, but her eyes also started to flow with tears. This time, not from anger because of being scolded by the caretakers, but rather because of this man’s singing. Later, she would learn that the man lost his dear wife and only daughter in a tragic car accident when he was playing a song for a band performance. He revealed that he never got over his loss and lost the drive to keep playing. Now he lives alone, wallowing in regret that he never got to see their faces and hear their voices in their last moments. It was then when Mori first found her own calling in life. She wanted to learn how to play too and put on a performance big enough to let the man see his own dreams achieved through her. She swore on her life that she would make it, and that he would get to see. No matter what it takes, she’ll repay him for giving her own life a second chance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually still don't know a lot about the other members of Hololive, since I've only been 1 month into this rabbit hole.  
> EN has been my main exposure, but Kiara's recent collab with Reine got me to check out ID Gen 2.  
> Hope you all enjoyed the inclusions anyway.
> 
> Song: The One That Got Away  
> Originally by Katy Perry, male version by Boyce Avenue
> 
> Did you expect Sensei to get a song?  
> :)


	11. A Grim Reminder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mori works on her last song for the Dead Beats album.  
> Kiara drops by to check on her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)

The sun shines a warm shade of orange this Tokyo afternoon. The warm air slowly turning cold as twilight fast approaches. The day’s hustle already over as this was the time when most people were counting down their working hours. While the younger crowd would be nestled in the comfort of their homes or enjoying the respite wandering the city and witnessing its various sights with friends or acquaintances. As the last hours of sunlight start to fall, Mori Calliope works on her album’s last song. Looking it over one more time, she thinks that more time could still be spent on getting in the right words, but the approaching deadline of their album’s release is making her consider using it as is. The only thing left to do was to record the vocals and instrumental track that would go along with it. As she finishes that train of thought, however, a person could be heard knocking on the door to her apartment.

Moving up to the visitor, Mori stands at the door for a bit to wait for a voice. “Is that you?” She asks, the voice on the other side responding in return. “Alright, come in already.” She unlocks the door and lets the person in. The band leader making conversation as they walk into the living area. “If we can finish this tonight, then we won’t need to worry about the rest of the week. Enma could get off your back then too.” She tells the other figure. The two then move to the small area in her apartment where Mori does her recording. She starts to work on setting up the microphones and noise dampeners, until a couple grumbles distract her. “Are you drunk again? Of course, you are.” She grunts in frustration. “Get it out of your system already. We can’t afford to slow down now.” She moves up to the other figure, who pushes back against her. “Hey, what are you doing? I told you already to stop with that kind of stuff. I said stop it!” She pushes back herself to confront the other’s force. “Now’s not the time for another talk. We need to get to work. I swear, all that attention’s gotten to your head at this point.” She turns her back to start working on the recording, but a hand on her shoulder stops her. “Knock it off!” She forcefully removes the hand on her. “There’s work to do!” She shouts in frustration, which provokes the other person in the room. “Oh? Are we really doing this again? Right now!? Can your ego get any bigger?” Mori starts to get very frustrated, but the other side of the conversation won’t let up.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

“Hey, Kiara.” Kokoro asks the assistant manager from across the staff room table. “I know it’s a little strange to ask, but have you gotten any contact from Sensei?” He asks leaning back a little on his chair. “She hasn’t seen my messages in the past two days. The album’s release is getting very close and she usually would’ve contacted me by now to work on the finishing touches of that last song.” He tells her.

“Now that you’ve mentioned it… She hasn’t tweeted anything recently too, right?” Takanashi Kiara asks as she pulls out her own phone. “She hasn’t read any of my messages for the past two days either. Is that strange?” Kokoro gives her a slight nod. “Why’s that?” She asks her senior.

“Originally, we planned on waiting a month after we first performed to release the album.” Kokoro starts to explain. “But Sensei and Enma managed to strike a deal with Cover Corp, a pretty big publishing name. Sensei agreed to the deal, but on the condition that we’d also be releasing our debut album earlier than anticipated. She told us she could handle it” He tells his work superior. “Now, that wasn’t a problem for us. We’d already finished recording a bunch of songs that ended up getting approved, but Sensei was always indecisive of the last one we were gonna put on the track. It’s something that she’s apparently been writing for a while now and has rewritten the lyrics of countless times.” He informs Kiara. “She said she was gonna contact me soon to finalize my part and so I can mix the final work, but that was supposed to be yesterday. I tried asking Enma, but she hasn’t updated me either.”

“That does sound strange.” Kiara admits. “Why would she disappear like that? Does she have other things she’s working on that she doesn’t tell you?” She asks the drummer, who shakes his head.

“No, it wouldn’t be like her to work on something else when the deadline is so close. Even when the deadline’s far away, she’s already overworking herself to finish it. I just can’t help but think something may have happened.” As if to confirm his suspicions, both Kokoro’s and Kiara’s phones vibrate to tell them that a message was sent. Looking to each other and then the message, they read the same text sent by Enma.

The message reads “Hey, I’m gonna be sending this to both of you since you’re probably finishing your shift by now, and I need at least one of you two to respond to this. I can’t get to Mori, but I have a really bad feeling about her. Check her Twitter.” Looking at each other again, the two open the social media app on their phone and go to @moricalliope, finding a new post written just now. Both of them making the same face of surprise. A short tweet that reads “For complications that I won’t be getting into, @grider_guitar will no longer be part of the Shinigamis. This will not be affecting the releasing of the Dead Beats album, and both I and the band will no longer be associated with him.” Both Kokoro and Kiara look as if they’d come to the same conclusion.

“She’s lying.” Kokoro states plainly. “She met with him two days ago to record his guitar, and now she’s working herself to her limits trying to make up for it. She doesn’t even know how to play.” Veins start to form of the younger man’s forehead. “I can’t believe that bastard!” He says in frustration, confusing Kiara a little.

“Rider?” Kiara asks. “Why would he no longer be a part of you?” A look of concern falls over her face. She’s never seen Kokoro frustrated. Even at work, when everyone else would be having a rough day, he’d always be the only one capable of making fun of the situation, to some mixed responses. But now he seems like he’s truly angry.

“Our recent boom got to his ego.” He tells Kiara. “He’s been spending nearly every night drunk with a woman, fan or not. I know this because I get a lot of drunk texts from him making fun of me for not getting the same attention as him.” Kokoro admits. “But I had a feeling he was also doing it to make up for Sensei rejecting his advances multiple times already.” This catches Kiara off guard. “He’s always been interested in her, but Sensei never let anything get in between her and our work. I should’ve seen it coming, but I didn’t think he would go far enough that Sensei would have to kick him out of the band.” Kokoro visibly clenches his fist. “That bastard probably went to their recording together red-faced drunk and tried to do something that majorly pissed her off.”

“Then what should we do? Calli’s trying to finish the song on her own even when she can’t fill in for Rider’s instrument?” Kiara visibly starts to worry. In the time she’s known Mori, she could definitely agree with Kokoro that she’s probably shut herself off from the rest of the world, trying to finish everything on her own. “Should we ask Enma?” And as if on cue, both their phones receive another text message. This one reading “I can’t manage to contact Griffin either. Whatever happened between them, it caused him to block me too. I’d go check things out myself, but I’m preoccupied with the Hollow at the moment. Can one of you two check to see if she’s alright? Whoever goes should grab my key to her place here before you try, in case she won’t let you in. If you’ll get into trouble, I’ll handle things with your boss.” Both of them look up at each other, but Kokoro became the first to speak up.

“You go.” He tells Kiara. “I know this is band related stuff, but you and I both know you’ll have a better chance than me.” The employee makes a serious face. “Please. She’ll need you. I’ll close up here, and I’ll cover for you too in case this bites us in the ass.” He tries to convince the girl, who gives him a quick nod of understanding before grabbing her things and heading to the door to start making her way to Enma’s Hollow. “Take care of her for me.” Kokoro says under his breath as the starry-eyed girl makes her way out.

Thankfully, the Hollow wasn’t so far away from where they were. Just a couple minutes’ walk away from where she works, Kiara follows the path taken by Kokoro and Griffin before when sneaking her in to watch a practice session and goes past the rented studio. Sprinting the rest of the way, she eventually could see the lit sign reading ‘Enma’s Hollow’ telling her that she’s made it to where the manager was. Walking to the front desk, she could see the black-haired woman finishing a transaction with a customer before noticing the bright-haired girl.

“Takanashi!” Enma exclaims. “Thank god. It looks like you two heard the news.” She reaches down below the counter and unlocks one of the drawers, pulling out something small and tossing it to Kiara who catches it in her hand. “This is my key to her place. I have a feeling you’re gonna need it if it’s as bad as I think.” The part-time bassist quickly informs her. “Go now. You can take one of the bikes at the back.” Kiara nods and turns away, not needing any more reasons to go. Enma watches as the still young upstart moves with efficiency, moving out of view and is eventually seen riding one of the rental bicycles past the front of the shop. “Thank you, Takanashi.” Enma silently thanks her long-time customer.

Takanashi Kiara peddles as if her life depended on it. Thinking about the situation based on what the other Shinigamis said, she could definitely come to the same conclusion if the lead singer was still the Mori Calliope she knew. The cold night air flies by her skin, chilling the exposed parts of her limbs, but a little cold won’t stop the fire burning in this girl’s heart. She swore that she would do everything she can to support the new Mori after all. She goes straight for a few seconds, makes a turn at a street, keeps going like this until eventually, the second apartment complex on her street became visible. The lights shining through the windows of the many floors showing the number of residents in the establishment.

Dismounting the rental bicycle, Takanashi Kiara moves quick and with purpose. Thankfully, her last meeting with Enma had already informed her of the band leader’s room number, because she needed it to pick up the overworked girl for the Skytree outing. Walking inside, she slows her pace a little as to not alert the numerous people walking in the ground floor lobby. A few more seconds pass and the hissing of an elevator door indicated that she has her way up. She goes in and inputs the right floor for where the pink-haired girl would keep herself. “Come on come on!” The fast-food employee jitters a bit in waiting for the lift to reach her destination. Eventually, the doors open once again to the hallway of one of the higher floors. Kiara immediately books it for the rapper’s room, seeing its number on the side of the wall, she stops in front of it for a moment to knock. “Mori, are you there?” She asks the other side. “I came here to check on you. The others are worried about you!” But the other side gave no response. Steeling herself, Kiara thanks Enma and uses the manager’s key to unlock the door to the apartment.

Walking in, Kiara could see what could only be described as a morbid mess. Even from the entrance hall, Kiara could see sheets from the bed dragged to the living area, clothes probably meant for laundry left just hanging on the couch, and the floor various degrees of stained from what looks like alcohol. Walking in further, she could see more signs of distress. Sharp pieces of glass littered the side of the room, as if a bottle of wine was thrown and hit the wall, breaking it and causing another puddle of stains. Another analysis of the room also revealed that the black and white electric guitar on display at one wall was nowhere to be seen, but a messed-up chord coming from a room to side tells Kiara that it was most likely being used in a desperate attempt to play a song. Takanashi Kiara enters the recording room and finds a very disheveled Mori Calliope. Her hair was a mess, her clothes look like they haven’t been changed in two days, and her constant cursing matching up with the alcohol induced expression that was on her face. “Guh! Why can’t you just work for me!?” She frustratingly curses the instrument, but then sees that another figure has entered the room. “Kusotori?” The band leader calls the other girl by a nickname thought long abandoned, but Kiara knew not to enjoy it because the multiple wine bottles beside the singer paint her a very uncomfortable picture. “What are you doing here? Trying to help me? Hah!” Mori says in a drunken slur.

“You’re making everyone worry!” Kiara moves up to clean up the mess a little bit. “Why are you even making yourself do this alone? You have friends, you know?” She asks in between moving the bottles out of the way. “What makes you decide that asking for help isn’t an option?”

“Them? Friends? HAHAHA!” More drunken banter. “I don’t need friends. I’ve made it this far without any…” Her mood quickly switches from hyperactive to slow. She’s really messed up. “You think you can help? Please, where even were you for 5 years? You’re no different from them!” That last bit stings Kiara a little.

“YOU DON’T NEED TO DO THIS TO YOURSELF!” Kiara retaliates. “YOU CAN’T EVEN PLAY THE THING AND YOU’RE TRYING TO FINISH A SONG WITH IT!?” She shouts. “Why not ask Sensei for help? Where even is he?” Kiara suggests, which triggers something in the mentally hindered Mori.

“He’s dead…” The singer bluntly lets out, which causes Kiara’s eyes to widen in shock. “He’s been dead for a while. But of course, you won’t know that. You were too busy leaving me, too…” Kiara backs away a bit in disbelief, wondering why she’s only now heard the news. “Everyone leaves me eventually. I DON’T NEED YOU EITHER!!!” The drunken rapper shouts, loudly, causing some tears to flow down Kiara’s cheek at the realization. “YOU SAID YOU LOVED ME, BUT WHERE WAS THAT LOVE WHEN YOU DECIDED TO LEAVE ME ALONE, TOO!?!?” Mori stands up at this, and glares at the now frightened Kiara. “I DON’T NEED YOU, OR ANYONE ELSE! 5 YEARS I’VE BEEN ON MY OWN, WHILE YOU WERE OFF ENJOYING YOUR OWN LIFE WHEREVER THE FUCK ELSE YOU WENT TO!!!” Kiara barely dodges a blow headed towards her, which hit the wall instead. Now, Kiara’s tears really start to pour. “LOVED ME? PLEASE! WHAT KIND OF LOVE MAKES YOU JUST DECIDE TO ABANDON SOMEONE LIKE THAT, HUH!?!?!”

“I’m sorry…” The orange-haired girl weeps a desperate try to calm down the enraged rapper.

“SORRY!?” It didn’t work. “IF YOU ACTUALLY EVEN FUCKING REMEMBERED, SORRY WON’T CHANGE ANYTHING!” Mori continues shouting. “I HATE PEOPLE LIKE YOU!” And that’s the final straw. “ACTING LIKE YOU CARED ABOUT ME, THEN ABANDONING ME JUST LIKE HIM!!!” **She was right after all.**

Kiara didn’t want to hear any more of this. As the drunken anger of Mori Calliope breaks her heart yet again, the stars in the girl’s eyes disappear as they are washed away with a cascading waterfall of tears and guilt. “Goodbye, Mori…” She turns away to leave the room. Any hope she once had for things to go back to what they once were flickers out, as the burning flame that was her drive only moments earlier gets snuffed out by the harsh reality that’s always threatened her foolish optimism. Love? Why was she ever so childish to believe in such a thing? **She lost that when she decided to run away 5 years ago.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _To be continued, next time..._  
>  On Chapter 12 - **"5 Years Ago"**


	12. 5 Years Ago

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What was then and what is now.  
>  _Fool me once, shame on you._  
>  _Fool me twice, shame on me._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What happens when a fire dies out?

-=-=-=- 5 years ago -=-=-=-

It’s been a year since Takanashi Kiara first went to Japan. The country she’s always wanted to visit, full of opportunities and sights never once thought imaginable. When she first landed, she felt as if nothing could stop her. She saw the sights, ate the food, and met some pretty hospitable people too. It was everything the young adult could’ve ever wished for, was what she thought on her first arrival. However, curiosity got the better of the girl and she managed to wander off to a secluded part of Tokyo and almost had her stuff stolen. It was there where, by pure happenstance, she would come to meet the love of her life, Mori Calliope. The two had an iffy relationship at the start. Mori wanting nothing to do with the girl who kept pestering her, while Kiara not relenting on paying back the kind favor done by the girl on the street. Eventually, however, whether or not either expected it, the two grew very fond of each other and even started dating some months later. They were happy. These were the thoughts running through the mind of Takanashi Kiara when finishing up writing a gift for her new love. Because today was a rather sad day for her. She never expected to fall in love in Japan. It was just something that happened. Because of it, there she faced a dilemma. **She wasn’t staying in the country.** She was only here accompanying her parents on a business trip after all. The foreigner thought about breaking the news sooner, but everyday she spent with the pink-haired girl was far too good for her to ruin their remaining time with that revalation. And so, Kiara thought of something to leave the girl with. A parting gift, for Mori to remember her by until she comes back. Because she truly wants to come back, one day. Some believe long distance relationships wouldn’t work, but Kiara believes that it can. It’ll work out for the two because their love is strong. They could even contact each other now, too. Through the combined efforts of Mori’s Sensei and Kiara’s own allowance, they managed to get Mori her own phone for her birthday. It will work, Kiara tells herself. Their love can last.

“And it’s done!” Takanashi Kiara lifts up the paper containing her writing. “You aren’t the only one who knows how to do this, Calli.” She carefully folds the parchment inlaid with her words into a letter that she plans to give to her love. Mentally telling herself that everything will be alright, she prepares to head back out and tell Mori about the parting gift. “It’s okay.” Kiara says under her breath. “She won’t be alone. Sensei will take care of her for me until I return.” She proceeds to walk through the streets of Tokyo one last time until she eventually reaches the comfortable homestead, now filtered with a soft orange warmth slightly darkened by the thickening clouds up above as the afternoon falls upon the country that she’ll be saying goodbye to. She walks up to the home and sees, surprisingly, Mori already standing outside, on the porch overlooking the street. “Hey, Calli!” She gives the girl a wave, but for some reason Calli doesn’t wave back. That’s odd. Kiara then gets closer. “You okay, Calli?” She walks up to her girlfriend, who just now notices her. Strange, Kiara thinks. Her eyes look tired.

“Sup, Kusotori.” Mori nonchalantly greets her with a slight slur. “Wanna go somewhere? I kinda don’t wanna be right here right now.” She asks Kiara, who’s surprised because it was an unusual thing for Mori to just invite her to go somewhere out of the blue. Sure, there were times when the aspiring song artist would have a place in mind, but she usually mulls it over with Kiara a couple of times before making the final decision. But whatever her reasoning was, Kiara felt she should take Mori’s offer, and so they decided to just walk around for a bit.

“Are you okay, Calli?” Kiara asks her girlfriend, who takes a few seconds to respond. They wander a bit further in the street, no real destination in mind. Although sometimes when she looks beside her, she could swear Mori’s cheeks have a slight reddening. That’s also odd. They’re not even doing anything that would produce that type of reaction from her.

“Hm? Oh, yeah.” Another flat response. “How about you?” Mori changes the topic. The sky darkening a bit more as what looks like rain clouds slowly form.

“Oh, uh.” Okay, Kiara didn’t expect her response to be that short. They’ve known each other for a whole year now, and Calli would normally always tell her what’s on her mind. But the girl supposes that if the conversation’s being brought to her now, then she should get the main topic out of the way. “There’s actually something I wanted to tell you.” Mori stops her walk and looks at the girl, insinuating that she wants her to go on. “I’m sorry that I never got to tell you sooner, but…” Kiara pulls out the envelope. “I’m actually leaving soon…” Her voice drops a bit as she holds back some emotions. She presents Mori the paper, who takes it in her hands. “I really wanted to tell you sooner, but I just couldn’t bring myself to sour the moment. I’m really sorry!” She bows her head. “I made something for you to remember me by though! And we can still talk to each other online. I swear I’ll come back soon!” She lets it all out.

An uncomfortably long pause. It was as if time had stopped for what felt like a whole minute, until the one being offered a promise breaks the tension. “Why you too?” Kiara hears Mori ask her. Looking back up, she sees tears falling out of the pink-haired girl’s eyes. “WHY!?” Mori shouts, startling the orange-haired girl.

“Calli? What’s wrong?” No, this isn’t right. Mori isn’t the type to get angry at her. Sure, there were her playful insults towards her that were always brushed off as a joke, but she never actually got mad. Kiara tries to move forward to comfort the girl, but then she was suddenly pushed away by her hand. “Ow, hey!” Kiara regains her balance as she stumbles back. “What’s wrong with you? I could’ve fell.” Looking at her love another time, she once again sees the tears flowing down her cheek, but now there’s a lot more of them and they were accompanied by what sounded like hiccups. “Calli? Did you drink?” Kiara knew Mori had a passing interest in alcohol, but she’s never seen the girl actually indulge in it to the capacity that it would visibly show on her. She knew there were some bottles in her Sensei’s house, but Kiara knew that the old man would never let either of them touch those. It was some strong stuff that he apparently only indulged in when he was much younger. But Mori wouldn’t drink from those if her Sensei was stopping her. She’d never cross the old man.

“WHY YOU TOO!?” Mori shouts again, confusing Kiara even more. She tries to ask again why Mori’s like this, but the under-influence girl keeps interrupting her. “FIRST HIM, NOW YOU!?” Kiara couldn’t understand. What was she talking about?

“Calli, I can’t understand you- ow!” She gets pushed back again. “What happened? Tell me! Talk to me, Calli!” Kiara tries to get through to her girlfriend. “Why are you like this?” She tries to ask.

“LEAVE!!!” Mori violently shouts as Kiara moves out of the way of something thrown in her direction. Turning back, she could see the broken pieces of Mori’s phone smashed against the concrete of the sidewalk. A quick glance back at Mori also told her that she’d also dropped her gift and let it fall to the ground. “JUST LEAVE ALREADY, LIKE HE DID!!! I DON’T NEED ANY OF YOU!!!” Kiara starts to visibly tear up at this. Why was Mori so angry at her? What was she even saying?

“No!” Kiara refuses to let up and rushes forward to embrace the girl. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but I refuse to leave you like this!” She tightens her embrace; some tears fall as she continues to speak. “I love you Calli! So, let’s talk this through already!” She hopes she could get through and reach the lovable dork within. Why is she so mad? Kiara couldn’t understand. Even the slightly tipsy Mori she saw in one of their many dates was never like this. The Calli she knew wouldn’t have lashed out at her like she’s doing now. So, she’s gonna try to get through and sort out this confusion. “Ow!” But it seems the other side also won’t let up.

 **“FUCK YOU’RE SO ANNOYING!!!”** Mori shouts as she forcefully pushes Kiara away from the embrace. “YOU REALLY ARE TOO FUCKING CLINGY, YOU KNOW!? Always so pushy… IT REALLY PISSES ME OFF!!!” Mori lifts her foot up and stomps on the dropped letter, causing even more tears to fall from Kiara’s face. “JUST LEAVE ALREADY! WE’RE DONE ANYWAY! **WE’RE THROUGH!** ” And like cutting a thread holding an object high, Kiara’s heart sank, and her last bit of composure breaks her will. In tears and on the ground, desperately trying to get back her intended parting gift, she pulls on the envelope and clutches it tight. “I’LL MAKE IT ON MY OWN IF I HAVE TO! YOU’LL BOTH SEE WHAT I CAN DO!!!”

“Why…?” She weeps. “I thought you loved me, too?” The paper crumples in her hands. “Was I really so wrong to only tell you now?” Whatever the answers were, none of them were given. As through her clouded vision, she sees her first love turn away and never look back. Why? What caused this? Was it really her? But their love was so strong… All things Kiara wondered and pondered on. Yet she could never figure out. 

Not knowing what to do, the heartbroken girl stands up, and runs, having no clear destination in mind. She just needed somewhere to run away to. What was she running away from? Her thoughts? Her feelings? Or away from the person she thought loved her too? After what felt like hours, but was in reality only about a few minutes, the girl finds herself in front of the karaoke place Mori took her almost a year ago. Hurt by even more reminders of the girl she met that day; she tries to run even further but a few droplets on her skin tell her that rain’s starting to fall. Not seeing another option, she ends up entering the establishment anyway.

“Welcome to Enma’s Hollow.” A different woman than the one Kiara originally saw during her previous visits greets her. “Are you Takanashi?” The receptionist asks her. She knows Kiara? The girl nods. “If you’re looking for Ms. Holo, she needed to respond to an urgent emergency regarding an acquaintance. She’s put me in charge for the moment until she comes back from the hospital.” Whatever the woman said next, Kiara didn’t hear. It didn’t concern her anyway. Nothing in the world concerned her. She just needed to get away, from this place and her shattered feelings, and so she pulls out her phone and makes a call. The other side picking up shortly after.

“Hey mom. Hey dad.” She speaks to the other side while sitting down on a bench. “I got lost again, can you two come pick me up?” She makes a request as another tear flows down her cheek. Unconsciously, she even drops the parting gift she was supposed to give to Mori. She didn’t need it anymore, after all. The girl she met on the street that one time wanted to cut her off entirely.

-=-=-=- Present Time -=-=-=-

“Takanashi? You’re back so soon.” The owner of Enma’s Hollow greets the tear-stained girl. “How was Mori? Did everything go alright?” The woman tries to ask, but Takanashi Kiara remained quiet. Only moving froward to give back the key and drop off enough money meant for a room. “Are you okay? Did something happen?” No response either. Only silence as the twice-heartbroken girl shuts herself off in her own room. Selecting a song to let out some steam. **Why did she ever believe she could try again without getting hurt?** She buries her thoughts as the instrumentals of the song starts to play.

https://youtu.be/JFJyOVd7LMU

_“I will not make the same mistakes that you did  
I will not let myself  
Cause my heart so much misery  
I will not break the way you did  
You fell so hard  
I've learned the hard way  
To never let it get that far”_

**That was the last time she’ll let herself get hurt…**

_“Because of you  
I never stray too far from the sidewalk  
Because of you  
I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt  
Because of you  
I find it hard to trust not only me, but everyone around me  
Because of you  
I am afraid”_

**Love? What even was that anyway?**

_“I lose my way  
And it's not too long before you point it out  
I cannot cry  
Because I know that's weakness in your eyes  
I'm forced to fake  
A smile, a laugh every day of my life  
My heart can't possibly break  
When it wasn't even whole to start with”_

**No more of love. Not anymore…**

_“Because of you  
I never stray too far from the sidewalk  
Because of you  
I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt  
Because of you  
I find it hard to trust not only me, but everyone around me  
Because of you  
I am afraid”_

**It always ends up bad anyway…**

_“I watched you die  
I heard you cry every night in your sleep  
I was so young  
You should have known better than to lean on me  
You never thought of anyone else  
You just saw your pain  
And now I cry in the middle of the night  
For the same damn thing!”_

**But what was this she still felt?**

_“Because of you  
I never stray too far from the sidewalk  
Because of you  
I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt  
Because of you  
I try my hardest just to forget everything  
Because of you  
I don't know how to let anyone else in  
Because of you  
I'm ashamed of my life because it's empty  
Because of you  
I am afraid…”_

**No, she can’t…  
Not after she’s pushed her away twice.  
She couldn’t still love her.  
She _won’t_ stay in love with her…**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally got to use the song that was the main reason why I wanted to write this fanfiction.
> 
>  _Song: "Because of You" - Kelly Clarkson_  
>  Kiara's rendition, clipped by NexatG - KFP Clipper


	13. A Terrible Night For A Curse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two hearts at their lowest.

Cold. The chills wash over the body of Takanshi Kiara, who sits alone in an isolated room. For when a fire flickers out in the middle of the night, all one could feel is the warmth slowly leaving them. That’s what the wallowing girl was feeling that night. After getting pushed away for the second time, she weeps for she was so foolish to ever believe she could try again. What did she ever do wrong? That fateful day 5 years ago. Was she really so at fault to try and preserve what little time they had? The answer, as she now comes to, was yes. Kiara wasn’t as young as all those years ago, and therefore not as oblivious. 5 years away from Japan taught her a lot of things. It was only now in her lowest point that she realizes her own shortcomings. She was too hopeful. Too optimistic that things could never change. But how could she have known? How could the young girl still getting her start in life ever expect such things to not be so? She couldn’t. Call it ignorance, bliss, youthful stupidity, or just being naïve. It matters not all the same. She never experienced love before then. Especially not one so strong. She wanted to hold on to that feeling forever. To keep it close so that it may never leave her embrace. Because she realized she was too cold without it. And now the flame disappeared from her once again. Does she want it to come back? She’ll have to answer that another time as a knocking on the door comes before the sound of a familiar voice.

“Oi, Kiara! You there?” It was the voice of her coworker, Kokoro. “I came to follow after closing up. Enma told me you ran back here already. What happened?” He tries to get through the crying girl. “Ow, hey!” Kiara hears her grunt as he’s seemingly pushed aside.

“Let me handle it, kid.” A woman’s voice tells the young man, as the sounds of the lock on the door keeping them on the other side clicking and turning tell Kiara that it was probably Enma using her own key to open it. “I think we both know exactly what happened.” The door to the room opens and Kiara sees the two band members standing outside. Both look at the girl with hints of concern on their faces.

“I’m fine.” Kiara fails a lie. “You don’t have to worry about me.” She says in vain as the two figures walk past the doorframe and sit down on the couch across from her. Both give her a moment to readjust as the two seem like they’re waiting for her to start the conversation. “I couldn’t help her.” She admits. “She’s drinking again and…” She pauses. “I couldn’t face that side of her another time.” She weakly lets out.

“So, you just left her?” Kokoro speaks up. “You just went and left her like that?” He seems frustrated. “She could still be beating herself up!” The man raises his voice. “We need to get back to her!” He tries to stand up but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder telling him to stay seated.

“Calm down, kid.” Enma says. “Look at her.” Enma gestures for Kokoro to also look at Kiara’s state. Her face wet from the tears she tried to wipe away, eyes slightly red, and visibly shaking just trying to keep up appearances. “As much as you admire her, you’ve never seen your leader at her lowest, have you?” Kokoro’s eyes widen. “Thought so. She never let it show after all. You haven’t seen her all beaten up by her own attitude. But it seems both Takanashi and I have.” The manager gives the girl a look. “I think we both know what other instance I’m referring to.”

“You know?” Kiara manages to ask. She narrows her eyes a little. That’s right, she never did find out how long Enma and Mori have been working together. “You know about that day?” Kiara’s heart aches a little bit more as that day all those years ago gets brought up.

Kokoro, meanwhile, remains silent. Listening intently to the conversation between the two who were much closer to their band’s leader than him. Subtlety, he curses himself that he can’t stand on the same ground as the two. All he could do was listen and be informed about things he could never ask the lead singer.

“She was pretty beat that day. When was it? It’s around 5 years ago now, right?” Enma gives a scarily accurate time estimation, which Kiara nods to. “It was the same day her old man was rushed to the hospital and passed on shortly after.” Kiara’s eyes suddenly widen. Of course, why didn’t she make the connection? “I’m listed as one of the old guy’s emergency contacts. Or at least was.” She tells Kiara, who’s only now connecting the dots after getting her mind off her immediate emotions. “Mori called me to tell me how he suddenly collapsed in their home. She wasn’t used to her phone yet, so she turned to me for help in her panic.” Enma narrates the events. “So, I accompanied the old man, and she was left to watch the house. But by the time we reached the emergency room it was already too late. He’d died of a heart attack. I called her from the hospital to let her know.”

“And then I told her I was leaving…” Kiara adds her own part to the story. “I waited too long to tell her, and then I had to say it when she just lost him too.” Another flow of tears starts to fall down her face. Realization only making her feel so much more guilty than before.

“Wait, so you never told Sensei that you were leaving the country?” Kokoro speaks up again, making his own connections regarding this story. “What the hell was that? Did you think she’d take that news well, even without all that already?” His words strike a painful tinge in Kiara. Hearing her own shortcomings pointed out only producing more tears. “I thought you said you loved her. What kind of messed up love makes you withhold that kind of thing for a whole year?” He points out, only digger her heart deeper. “Even if you were close, that’s just a selfish thing to do!” The man’s anger lets out, but Kiara doesn’t blame him.

He was right. It was selfish. She thought Mori could never hold anything against her. She assumed things would never turn out bad between them. She was young, foolish, and unhealthily optimistic. She thought love was strong enough to save what they had, even through any problem. Sure, Mori was under influence and also not in the best state of mind that day, but that didn’t make what Kiara did any less selfish.

“I know…” She weeps into her hands. “You don’t have to tell me…” She cries, making Kokoro’s demeanor soften a bit as he realizes his own temper was getting to him. Kiara could hear the younger man make a couple of soft apologies in between her sobs. “It’s fine. You’re right. She really hates me for it already. I don’t know why I ever thought I could bring what we had back when she still hates me so much for it.” At this point her tears stop pouring out. Her mouth was starting to dry, and her throat started to hurt from both singing and crying. Across the table, Kokoro hands the girl one of the glass cups with some water still in it.

“I don’t think that’s entirely true.” Enma says, causing both Kiara and Kokoro to turn towards her. “I don’t think she’s truly hated you for as long as you think. She pulls out her phone and looks like she’s searching for something in the device. “After you apparently left, I helped Mori with inheriting her Sensei’s property. As she was legally an adult by then and under his care, all his stuff and the home went to her. I always wondered why you never showed up to help, but she was never in the mood to talk about anything regarding you. Not because she hated bringing you up in conversation, I personally think it’s something else. She never explicitly said it, but I could see her getting slightly somber whenever she had to remember you.” The manager stops her tapping on the device, seemingly having found what she’s looking for. “For a year, she ended up doing gigs at various establishments. I offered her a job here, but she insisted on continuing to pursue her own ambitions. Seeing her never let go of that dream, I eventually offered her my position as what would then turn into the band’s manager.” She flips the phone to show a paused video to Kiara. “This was one of the songs she sang when I watched over her one night.”

Looking at the screen told Kiara that the video was of Mori Calliope performing in a late-night bar. She was alone on the stage and had her hands on a new keyboard that Enma informed her was part of the manager’s efforts to assist the still aspiring song artist. Kokoro was also curious to see, so Kiara picked up the phone and placed it on the table between the three. As soon as the device was lifted off her hands, Enma for some reason stands up and leaves the room, allowing Kiara and Kokoro to listen to the recording without her. Tapping on the screen once to play the old recording, the soft playing of the electrical instrument was soon followed by a bittersweet voice echoing across the late-night establishment.

https://youtu.be/VYu3PvRPZR8

_“The days are blending together  
Pretending like I don't notice  
Drowning in mental fog so thick  
My hands might close where my throat is  
Not gonna rap that "I'm cursed"  
My words got heavy  
And sure enough the steady ebb-and-flow of life subsided  
But I wasn't ready”_

Kiara hears Mori Calliope sing.

_“Last night I thought up a song  
But I'm too wired to hum it  
Inspired sight, like tunnel-vision on the life I got from it  
Not tired yet, right? Hah  
"It's fun," I'll tell ya that much  
Adventures oughta be remembered as such  
But I'm not well”_

She sounds somber, as if feeling the same sadness as Kiara now.

_“Not today, not tomorrow  
These souls inside my pocket are just sanity I borrow  
"Sayonara" to the sorrow of eternity alone?  
Ya right  
Part of the joke is that it's all that I've known  
It's justified, can't help that I romanticize your concern  
Now I can fantasize forever if you never say the words "Goodbye"  
This tainted mind-set really must go free  
Finding someone so fuckin' wonderful when I'm just so...  
“Me””_

Did Mori feel the same way too?

_“Searching by city light  
You'll never find me  
Running through a cursed night  
"Do you have a death wish?"  
Shut the lid tight, it's complicated  
Could ya not look inside, it's complicated  
Somehow I'm just a page in, but I've cried and I've grown  
To shut away the conversations of my "highs-and-lows"  
自分の目で見えたいの?  
(Do you wanna be able to see it with your own eyes?)  
この絶望の美しさ”  
(The beauty of this despair)_

Did she also long for their days together? She sounds so sad in this song. In the time Kiara knew the aspiring rapper, she’s mainly heard her sing more upbeat and edgy. Kiara never heard the girl sing somber and emotional. It was almost as if something had changed in Mori Calliope. She was lost. On her own trying to make her way through life and holding on to the only thing that’s kept her moving forward. Desperately clinging onto the one thing that stayed with her. Her music. Kiara knew she inherited her late Sensei’s dream, but Kiara was also there when Mori made it her own. It became the only thing she cared about succeeding in anymore. And now that one thing was threatened to fail. She didn’t want to think about what the girl would do if she couldn’t even manage that.

_“"By myself" is just better  
I know I say that a lot  
But if somebody holds you back, then you cannot become god  
Lost in the night, 情けない (No sympathy)  
Hostile, hostage or free  
These childish eyes will only show my mind what I wanna see”_

But why should this concern her? She’s already been pushed off to the side twice. Why should she even continue thinking about this girl? She can’t afford to let her heart take anymore of this. She couldn’t keep loving Mori Calliope. That’s what she tells herself, but she also knows that she couldn’t help but _care_ about Mori Calliope. Try as she might to reject the girl’s place in her mind, she cares too much for her wellbeing to just leave her alone in a vulnerable state. Whether or not she could still love the singer was something she had to think about, because as Mori’s voice hums an enchanting melody, Enma enters the room once again and shows that she’s brought something with her. Kiara takes the worn and old looking item and inspects it, feeling a slight familiarity as she opens a seal. But upon realization of what Enma has brought her, she turns to look at Kokoro who also sees it and gives the orange-haired girl a nod, instantly understanding what she intended to do.

_“自分の目で見えたいの?  
(Do you wanna be able to see it with your own eyes?)  
Wanna see it?  
Fine, this time, look for yourself…”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Answer:  
> It makes room for a new spark


	14. Once Upon A Time, A Phoenix Loved A Reaper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Strange, isn’t it?  
> The miasmic paradox of human emotion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've now finalized how I want to end this story.  
> For those who've been keeping up with this as I update, it's been fun.  
> I'll see you all in these final chapters.  
> :)

It hurts. As the morning sun shines through the windows of one Tokyo apartment, a tired and exhausted woman wakes up a horrendous mess on the living room couch. Her eyes sunken, her body fatigued, and her mind empty. A pain shoots through her skull. Not caused by something external, but rather from something internal as the over-indulgence of alcohol in her system from last night comes to claw back at her this morning. She feels the liquid wanting to escape her. Telling her body to let it out. As the still groggy woman starts to sit up, an arm on her shoulder tells her that she wasn’t alone this morning. “Sensei?” She weakly manages to speak. The figure helping her up to take her to the bathroom. Still recovering from one all-nighter and as well as a night of drinking.

“No.” A woman’s voice answers her. “It’s just me.” As Mori Calliope’s vision starts to clear, she could see the vague outline of the older, black-haired woman. “And you need to fix yourself.” Enma says as she leads Mori to the toilet to gush out everything from last night. “You pushed yourself too far again. You really need to start learning how to reach out and rely on others.” She gives advice in between Mori’s coughs and sputters. Eventually, the remnants of the liquid in the lead vocalist’s system escapes her and she starts to think clearer again, though not as well as she would hope.

“What happened last night?” Mori Calliope asks her sort of guardian, who gives her only a long gaze in return. Slowly, some flashes of insight come back to Mori as she remembers the recent events. The day after she returned from the visit to the Skytree, her and Rider met up to record the guitarist’s part for the last song they needed to do for the upcoming album. He turned up to the recording, drunk and angry that she could never reciprocate his advances. In a fit of rage boosted by his new ego due to the band’s recent popularity, he started a heated argument with Mori. The details in her mind were hazy, but Mori could vaguely recall herself lashing out at the man in frustration and kicking him off the band. Or did Rider say that that he was too good for her and decide to go make it on his own? Whatever happened, it didn’t matter. The album’s release would have to either be moved or delayed indefinitely. The band was down one member and getting someone to fill in would take more effort than it’s worth with how many offers they’d probably need to sort through due to their explosive start.

“You did quite a number on Takanashi too. I guess you two really were a thing all those years ago. The poor girl was heartbroken last night.” Enma interrupts the long silence in between them. Whatever sleepiness Mori still felt fades away at this. That’s right. Kiara was there. Oh god Kiara was there.

“Did I…?” She turns her head to look at Enma, who gives a single nod. “No…” Mori’s eyes start to well up. She did it again. Of course, she did it again. Memories of her loud proclamations of hatred come flashing back in her mind. All the horrible things she said in her sleep-deprived and drunken frustration. “I hurt her again…” Regret comes crashing down on Mori Calliope. The events of 5 years ago only coming back to haunt her. Sure, part of her anger all those years ago was justified. She couldn’t believe Kiara would hold out on telling her like that, but a whole lot more of her was willing to forgive the girl because she was the first person that truly loved the rapper for who she was, other than her Sensei who took care of her. If only things didn’t have to turn out the way they did and she wasn’t so reckless in her indulgence whenever facing stressful situations. She waited for so long to hear back from her for all those years, but she knew that she was holding out for the impossible. She called their relationship off and severed their ties. She could even remember how devastated the bright-haired girl was when she literally stomped on the present she intended to give to Mori. If only she knew how to handle herself better. Oh, how different things might be now if she could.

“You should stand up now.” Enma calls the younger woman. “You need to start taking care of yourself properly, and I’m here to make sure of that.” She holds out her arm, which Mori takes. As Mori Calliope stands up, tears only start to fall back down her face as she feels her own hope for things to go back to what they once were fade. For all her shouting and denial, she knew it in herself that she never stopped loving Takanashi Kiara. The annoying, most persistent, yet most lovable idiot that ever randomly ran into her life all those years ago. She had another chance. She could’ve reached out. Called back to what they once were, but she was too stubborn and self-centered to even consider that maybe the other girl also felt the same. She was too single-minded in her own ambitions, and now even that is lost, as they cannot afford to meet the album release and hold up her side of the contract. “And don’t worry about going back to work either. You need to recover. For now, focus on taking care of yourself. There’s somewhere you need to be tonight anyway. I’ll tell you when we get there.”

For the rest of the morning and into the afternoon, Enma helped Mori Calliope clean up in her apartment. They had a lot of work to do, considering the place was trashed in the two days Mori decided to attempt the impossible. The singer was also grateful for the amount of time it took because it allowed her to take her mind off the recent events as well. For a few hours she didn’t need to think about how she pushed away the one person she truly wanted to love not once, but twice now. How she yelled at and hurt Takanashi Kiara, ruining her chances to still cling onto the hope she’s kept in her heart for all those years. The two keep at it for a while until the sun started to set below the horizon, painting Tokyo into a beautiful picture in its dusk. The warm light marking the end of another day. They made good work of the place. The stains managed to be washed out, the broken glass was thrown away, the clothes lying about were put in the wash, and a certain guitar was put back onto the pedestal where it belonged. Mori stands in front of the instrument for a while, thinking about her late Sensei. The man who took her in when no one else would. The person who never managed to forgive himself and move on with his own life. She wonders if he would want her to be like who she is now. She kept beating herself up because she wanted to pay him back. So that he could one day see the dream he once had lived through her. Was it ever her own dream to begin with? All this time she’s forced it onto herself, thinking it was the thing that she truly wanted to dedicate her life to. Who even is Mori Calliope? The fans see her as this perfect ideal. The unshakable and hardworking underground success story. But was that ever truly her? She’s acted like it was for so long, she wasn’t even sure anymore who she was.

“I think he’d say to follow your heart and keep at it.” Enma interrupts the glooming girl’s internal monologue. “In the little time I got to know the sappy guy, he always did believe in the potential of others.” The older woman tells the singer. “If he was here, I’m sure he would sit you down for a minute, tell you to breathe, then say that you’re doing great, and that you've made his dream your own through hard work and effort. I guess even if he did stop chasing his own dream, he never failed to believe that others could still chase their own.” She gives Mori a glance. “So, stop beating yourself up and listen to the guy. He never stopped being your Sensei even after leaving this world.” She pats the younger girl on the back. “Come on, there’s somewhere we need to be right now. Get dressed and be ready to go out.” Enma instructs her, which Mori ends up following because what else was there to do? 

The two band members walked out of the apartment and then into the street. Walking below the twinkling lights that were the stars of the night sky. Mori remembered those lights. It’s the same lights Kiara’s eyes used to shine with when they would be enjoying their time together. Enma and the lead singer walked for a while, not really in any rush. Mori wanted to ask the manager where they were headed but decided against it because she knew the woman well enough that if she doesn’t tell her certain things, she doesn’t intend on revealing it until it’s meant to be relevant. However, the two walk down familiar roads that Mori knew. Certain shops and buildings were familiar, and after some minutes the rapper eventually figured out where she was being taken to.

“Here we are.” The woman with black and red hair stops in front of a certain establishment. It was the rental studio the Shinigamis practiced their songs in before they performed live. “You’ll find out why we’re here once we go inside.” She gestures for the younger girl to go in first, and Mori follows.

Opening the door to the practice room, Mori Calliope sees that it’s been set up to look like a performance will be happening soon. A microphone was stood up at the center and a drum set was ready to play at the side. She was about to turn around and ask Enma what this means but sees that she also moved to one side of the room to unpack the bass guitar she had apparently left here.

“Alright, you two can come out now.” The double time manager and band member says towards the direction of an unused side room, which to Mori’s surprise opens and reveals two figures walking out from the other side. A younger man with a hop in his step and her fellow band member, Kokoro, who walks to take his place on the drums, and another person that she knew all too well. A girl with orange hair that contained hints of teal, magenta eyes that seem to shimmer with a sheen she thought long faded, and a drive in her face as if she was looking to prove something. Takanashi Kiara walks out from the door, holding a seemingly newly bought multi-colored electric guitar that had traces of red, yellow, blue, orange, and teal all around it.

“What are you doing here?” Mori Calliope asks in disbelief. What reason did Kiara have to keep coming back to her life when all she ever did was hurt the girl. “Why? You should hate me…” Mori weakly lets out, holding back tears when confronted again by the love she had lost. Meanwhile, the bright-haired girl moves with confidence to stand behind the microphone. She grips her instrument and gives the regretful rapper a confident answer.

“Not because I love you.” She states plain and clean. “But because I won’t be running away this time.” A fire burns in her eyes, telling the lead singer that she wasn’t joking around. “I told you I’d repay you for the favor, didn’t I?” Kiara holds out the electric guitar in her hands, as if to tell Mori that she’s paying back a debt.

-=-=-=- Last night -=-=-=-

“This is?” Takanashi Kiara holds out the old piece of paper in her hands. It contained words all too familiar that came back to her all at once. Kokoro, who was seated across from her, also takes a look and sees what it is.

“These are song lyrics!” The drummer of the Shinigamis states. “Did you write this?” He says as Kiara turns to look at the old and damaged envelope that was used to seal the contents within. Some handwriting on the back reading “To: Mori Calliope” and “From: Takanashi Kiara.”

“One of my workers found this and gave it to me the day you were apparently last here.” Enma tells the two fast-food employees. “I never opened it because I thought it was better if Mori was the first to see it, but she never wanted to see what was inside. I hid it away and ended up not coming back to it, but now I think you may be able to make use of it again.”

Takanashi Kiara reads the full content within. It was the present she wanted to give Mori as a parting gift to remember her by. A song she wrote after being inspired to make her own since she and Mori learned a lot about the process together. “Kokoro!” She turns to her coworker. “I need you to help me do something tomorrow, can you make it?” Understanding what she meant, her senior employee nods. “Great! And Enma!” She turns to face the manager next. “I need to buy something specific. I’ll need your help in picking one out tonight.” Enma smirks, getting what the girl means to do. “I’ll need a ride.”

“Can you book us that place, Enma?” Kokoro asks the woman. “I think it’s best if we do it there.” His own drive to help his Sensei showing.

“Yes, and yes.” Enma quickly responds. “What do you think I am? I didn’t choose to work double time if I couldn’t handle this kind of stuff.” She tells the two with confidence. “Are you sure about this, Takanashi?” She waits for confirmation from the girl with fire in her eyes, who nods. “Then it’s settled. We can take the old man’s motorcycle I kept in the shed. It’ll take a minute to clean out, but it should still be working.”

“Alright. Let’s do this.” A fire burns once again inside Takanashi Kiara. As if she was a phoenix of myth, dying and then proceeding to rise again from the ashes.

-=-=-=- Present time -=-=-=-

Takanashi Kiara knew she didn’t want to keep loving Mori Calliope. She’s been hurt, pushed away, and tossed aside multiple times now, yet part of her still believed in the girl she once fell in love with. All she knew right now was that she wanted to make sure that she could finally pay back the favor all those years ago, and not run away. Whether or not the two could try again to rekindle that fire or move on with their individual lives was something that would have to wait as Takanashi Kiara and the Shinigamis prepare to perform the parting song that she never got the pink-haired girl she met on the street to listen to all those years ago.

https://youtu.be/eDfMDkgheQY

_“matataku hoshi no yuri kago kaketa serifu o  
(Fragmented words, in a cradle of twinkling stars)  
tsunagi awaseta Memory”  
(Connect to form a memory)_

Takanashi Kiara learned a lot during her time with the aspiring song artist, and as such Mori wasn’t the only one who grew in their time together. She got along well with the rapper’s late Sensei after all and was even taught how to play the man’s instrument so that Mori could have someone to help her in her dream.

_“Tell me, I can hear it clearly,  
Tell me, koe naki koe ni  
(Tell me, in your unspoken words)  
araburu kodou wa kizu o kogasu”  
(A wild beat scorching your weakness)_

So now she performs this quickly readied rendition of the song meant to remember her by.

_“homura furisosogu sora ni mi o yatsushite  
(Burning passion pours like rain from the sky)  
midarezaku aka wa benigeshou  
(Chaotic red blooms a scarlet rouge)  
amata kasanaru shiren mo ikinuite miseru  
(Through a multitude of ordeals, over and over, I will survive)  
I will live to keep on fighting till the dawn!”_

The Shinigamis were in need of a guitar after all, so Kiara thought of no better way to finally uphold that promise she made 6 whole years ago than this. Through the help of a very surprised Kokoro who was willing to guide her on relearning the instrument he observed Rider play alongside him, Kiara and the two Shinigamis make a performance to prove to Mori Calliope that there existed people out there willing to dream alongside her. To show her that she didn’t need to do this on her own, and that she wasn’t truly alone in her journey like she’d so stubbornly thought. She had a friend in Kokoro, a guide in Enma, and a reminder in Kiara. The fire in the currently performing girl's eyes telling her that they're putting in everything they've got to show that other people could stand up to the cold rapper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy jamming out to the rest of the song!
> 
> _Song: HINOTORI - Takanashi Kiara_
> 
> Credits go to VTuber Fandom Wiki for the English lyrics I used. I decided to use romaji so that it was easier to know which part of the song the reader would be at.  
> For information regarding the respective contributors to the original song, go to the description of the YouTube video.


	15. Live Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mori Calliope discovers the joy of companionship.  
> The Shinigamis get their act back together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ended up with a longer chapter than usual because I was too into writing the dialogue.  
> Decided to go with it anyway because I wanted everything written here to be its own chapter.
> 
> _**Sidenote:** Yes, Kiara's guitar is meant to resemble her sword and shield._

_“And in the next life too, I promise I will find you!”_

Mori Calliope didn’t always know she loved Takanashi Kiara. She spent most of her time with the girl denying that she did. The girl was bright, and blindingly so. In her time spent with the blazing girl, she knew that when Kiara was driven, there was nothing in the world that could stop her. The girl with a fire burning in her heart would do all in her power to see it through. That’s the Takanashi Kiara that Mori Calliope knew. The majestic phoenix that managed to burn down her walls built high all those years ago and tell her that she’s someone capable of love. No matter how alone she wanted to seem or how unapproachable she wanted to be. She was warm. A fire refusing to be snuffed out. An inferno to never cease. And as the flaming girl finished her performance, it was then when Mori realized she still loved her. As Takanashi Kiara ends her song, staring at Mori Calliope with a burning conviction, the lead singer lost in the cold knew she wanted to reach out and feel her warmth once again. To rekindle her own fire that was lost all those years ago. She wanted to love her again.

“I’ll help you guys finish the song.” Kiara states loud and clear. “Enma and Kokoro already showed me the part I’ll be doing. I practiced the whole day today learning how to play again. So, I may not be the best, but I hope you could bear with me.” She gives the rapper a confident smile. The other two Shinigamis also have the same look directed towards their leader. “Consider this me finally paying you back for the favor you did for me when we first met.” The foreign guitarist holds up her instrument for the lead singer to see. An electric guitar covered with a multitude of colors looking like magical fire with its hints of teal matching the blazing girl’s hair. “I finally had the money to pay you back for it myself after all. It’s no replacement, but I hope you’ll accept it.” The new assistant manager tells the rapper. “So, will you accept me as an honorary Shinigami, Sensei?” Kiara asks the band leader.

“We’re here to help you, Sensei.” Kokoro also walks forward to stand beside Kiara. “You don’t have to do all the hard work on your own. We’re here for you.” The man voices all the things he’s wanted to say to his mentor. “I wanna stand on the same level as you. Not as bandmates or simple acquaintances, but as equals and friends!” He then raises his fist to his chest and points the thumb at himself. “You can count on me to help lighten the load. I promise to be able to be as great as you one day!” He voices.

“Ah, kids and their energy.” Enma also walks forward to flank Kiara’s other side. “You should really hear out what more this one has to say.” She passes a glance towards Kokoro, who’s still puffing out his chest to raise his frame. “And this one too.” The older woman puts a hand on Kiara’s shoulder. “I can see why you got as far as you did if she was the one helping you out for that long. Who knew she could also play? I guess being with two musicians for a whole year does start to rub off on you, huh?” The manager then turns her eyes towards the lead singer. “What’ll it be, Sensei? Shouldn’t we be working on that last song already?”

Mori Calliope didn’t know what to say. It was as if the truth came crashing down all at once at her. How could she be so blind? Was she really so stubborn to do nearly everything on her own and reject the help of others? These people cared about her. They genuinely wanted to be there for her, and she just kept trying to push them away. No wonder she lost a member already. She wouldn’t want to work with someone like herself either. Selfish, self-absorbed, and too single-minded. But all of them, they wholeheartedly wanted to assist her.

Kokoro. Her first real band member that she met and recruited online aside from Enma. The only one eager and/or foolish enough to risk investing his time into a new talent with almost nothing to her name, minus a couple of good nights at some bars where the audience cheered for her. The two started their cooperation almost half a year ago now. Mori sending him a couple samples here and there and the young man showing her his music sense and sound design capabilities with his mixes, which convinced the leader to allow him a slot in the band after finding out he also plays the drums. Their relationship always felt one-sided. The younger man constantly wanting to show her the next best thing he could do. Always waiting for the rapper’s validation. Before, she thought it was slightly annoying, but now Mori could see that he just had the same drive to prove himself as her, all those years ago when practicing with her Sensei. He truly looked up to the upstart artist, and so he wanted to show her that he could stand on equal footing, or maybe even as a true friend.

Then there’s Enma. Always the mysterious one. Even now, Mori could never paint the whole picture with that enigma of a woman. She thinks no one could. But there was one thing she knew wholeheartedly to be true about the reserved woman. She truly cared about making the best show in people. Maybe it was the manager’s business sense, or maybe she just really cared but never attempted to show it on her face, but the older woman has always been there for the lead singer when no one else would be. Someone willing to take a lost girl under her wing, even without knowing all that much about her. A guiding light in the sea of darkness.

And finally, there was Takanashi Kiara. The once faded memory now crystal clear in front of her. At first a joking, seemingly aloof girl, who gets lost and says the most random things in the name of love or whatever else she would be on about day after day, now a matured person that knows exactly what she wants and what she needs to do in order to achieve it. A fellow dreamer just like Mori Calliope. It’s something she knew she loved about the orange-haired girl. Kiara was always the fire that warmed the hearts of anyone willing to open up to her. A kind soul, but also a hardworking one. Someone who deserves much better than how she was treated that one painful day.

“…” Mori Calliope gives them all a look. These are the people willing to dream her same dream. Friends, found family, and fateful reminders. All of them willing to put up with her flawed tendencies. Maybe she should try to be like them, instead? Open, honest, and knowing how and when to reach out. “Sure.” She says, knowing what it is in her heart that she truly wants. “I’ll accept the aid, if you’ll have me.” She supposes it can’t hurt to give herself up a little bit. Who knows, maybe she’ll actually end up liking making friends.

“Thanks, Calli.” Takanashi Kiara calls the rapper by her nickname. “I know there’s a lot we still need to talk about regarding, well, everything.” The girl makes a soft laugh. “But I’m glad you’ll let me help you, even if just this once.” She gives the band leader a warm smile, which hits something deep within Mori Calliope.

“Hell yeah!” Kokoro puts an arm around the honorary member’s shoulders. “Welcome to the team! Oh, we gotta get you a name too!” The drummer suggests. “Let’s see, we all have names that reflect what we do. Sensei’s Sensei because she’s the leader, of course. Enma’s Versteckt because she’s both our manager and plays the bass.” At that Kiara chuckles loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. “Eh, what’s wrong? Did I say something funny?” He becomes confused.

“Why don’t you ask Sensei over there exactly why my title’s a German word?” The bassist shifts the attention towards their leader, who blushes slightly at the revelation. “I suppose Takanashi’s multilingual tendencies ended up really rubbing off on you, huh?” The older woman laughs, seemingly for the first time that Kokoro’s heard it. A rare sight, Enma actually amused. At this the younger man turns to look at Kiara, who’s scratching her cheek with a finger, subtly confirming the manager’s suspicions. Kokoro’s jaw drops. “Yeah, this girl can speak German too. She’s a real box of surprises when you get to know her.” The manager recovers from her short spit of laughter. “But I do agree, I think you should also get one. At least if you wanna keep up with how we work.”

Mori Calliope observes what’s happening. These people really got along, huh? She’s been missing out on this kind of thing because she’s been so stubborn. She had to admit, it was entertaining to watch them banter back and forth. People of different ages yet talk about like they’re already old friends. It sounded nice. This is what she could also have? Kiara looked like she’s having fun too. A whole night ago, this girl was probably crying from having her emotions pushed around all over again. But here she is now, laughing without a care in the world like it never happened. No, it did happen. She’s just strong enough to be able to put it already behind her, unlike Mori who’s only just now realizing her own shortcomings. Living. It sounds fun. At that thought, the lead singer knew what she wanted to say next. Takanashi Kiara was no longer the Kusotori she once knew. She’s changed. Grown and matured at a rate blinding to Mori Calliope. As if she’s died and been reborn anew. “Hinotori.” The rapper says, causing the other three to look at her. “Hinotori. That’s you.” She looks at Kiara. “A phoenix. Burning and majestic. Capable of conquering anything with its eternal fire.” Mori smiles. For the first time in who knows how long, she joined a conversation.

“Hinotori…” Takanashi Kiara repeats the word. “I like it.” She gives Mori another warm smile. One that reignites something in the rapper’s cold heart. “Then let’s get to work, Sensei!” Mori loved her. She still loved Takanashi Kiara. Not because she’s the same person from all those years ago. No, that Takanashi Kiara’s long in the past now. But because the Takanashi Kiara that she sees now is this blazing girl she could only hope to be half as good and developed as. Before it was Kiara who fell for Mori and wanted to take her out, but now it was Mori who wanted to start over and chase after the embers this girl with fire in her eyes left in her wake. Mori could only hope she’d be able to catch up before the girl’s wings take her somewhere far away where she wouldn’t remember Mori Calliope. The girl who forced herself to be alone.

“Wow!” Kokoro exclaims. “Man, Sensei is so cool!” He goes back to his usual demeanor. “Hinotori, Versteckt, Sensei, and Requiem!” The drummer calls their titles. “The Shinigamis are back and no one’s gonna be able to stop us!” He raises a fist to the air enthusiastically, which was recreated by Kiara and even Enma.

“Hey, you get in on this too, Sensei.” Enma calls to the rapper still a few steps way from the group. “You’re a part of this too.” The manager tilts her head to signal Mori to walk forward. Mori then slowly follows. “Aw, come on already!” The older woman quickly grabs the pink-haired girl’s hand and drags her to be closer to the group. “To the Shinigamis!” Mori feels her arm raised. Willing to give it a try, Mori clenches her fist to repeat the gesture.

“To the Shinigamis!” The leader exclaims, causing Kokoro to visibly jump up and down. “Alright! We’ve got work to do.” Mori goes back to her leader mode. “We’re running behind on the last song. I’d normally try to do this myself, but this time I’ll be needing all of your help if we wanna finish this in time.” She gives a glance to her other band members. “Tomorrow, at my place. Kokoro!” The man gives a salute. “I’ll need you to mix the song for me. Enma!” The older woman raises a fist. “Bring your bass and help our new member get used to her instrument. She’s good but she’s still only touching one after years of not playing. Make sure she learns it.” Enma gives a nod. “And Hinotori!” Kiara fixes her posture. “There’s something I’m still not satisfied with. I’ll need your help in finalizing the lyrics. Will you help me?” Mori brings her arm forward to the girl, who takes it and completes the handshake.

“Yes, Sensei!” Kiara gives a confident answer. So, this is what reaching out to others is like. It’s warm and gets your heart pumping. Mori could swear that it’s the adrenaline in her system, but for Enma and Kokoro, it’s all too clear that their leader is very much enjoying the physical contact she's getting with their new member. Mori Calliope was unaware of the sudden reddening in her cheeks, and no one in the room had the guts to point it out to their leader.

-=-=-=- Some weeks later -=-=-=-

Across the sea, on some random country, a person could be seen scrolling through their smartphone. Looking out for various new songs that seemingly just released. This person was very interested in the Japanese side of the industry. They’re a fan of some of the big hits like the songs produced by the Hololive idol group, the concerts held by the Holostars boy band group, and even some of the more cross-cultural independent music scenes like the new all-girl band of VShojo. But then they discovered a new album on the charts. A rap track called “Dead Beats” by a new band called the “Shinigamis”. Willing to give new music a try, they scroll through the album and pick a random song. The phone selecting the one titled “Live Again.”

https://youtu.be/h-LOlueKCtk

_“おつカリ (Otsu-Calli!) It's the end of the party, let's hit the road  
Before I have to flash back to 死神モード (Shinigami mode)  
死ぬほど忙しくて (Busy enough to die), gotta run  
But thanks for watching what I put out, though, it's not a ton (感謝 [Thanks!])”_

This person had to admit. Whoever made this track was good. They haven’t listened to rap in a while and this girl singing brought a new flavor to the mix. This band had some talent. The quiet trace of some drums, a pleasing bass line, traces of some electric guitar, and good vocals.

_“One wish, that I can't pretend I don't wanna see come true  
I know it wouldn't make a difference  
If you thought of me as much as I think about you  
But maybe it's deliverance?  
From the pain I know is coming on when my old soul's finally gone  
It's not wrong to think about it, but I'll stop for tonight  
'Cause we're immortalized forever in the songs that we write, ya' know?”_

This is some good stuff. They could actually dance to this. The English lyrics punctuated by some Japanese definitely made this piece different from a lot of its competition. It must’ve taken a lot of time and effort to produce a work of passion like this. Every form of creative expression has a story behind it after all. A reason as to why the piece was created into this world. Sparked by one thing or another that motivated a person to create.

_“Close your eyes for a minute and envision a place  
Where everybody's cherishing life in one same space  
And it's embarrassing to say 'cause you're the one that I chase  
See, mortality's what makes a life sweeter to taste, right?  
Fatalities, fallacies, sweet and sour, simmer, freeze  
Time with me and you, refreshing like a haunted breeze  
Honestly, messing with the Reaper mentality  
Sleeping on the fact that history has told me how to be”_

-=-=-=- Meanwhile, In Japan -=-=-=-

_“Do I despise human life? Something really I ain't thought of  
But I die inside a little when we say, "じゃあ、また" (See ya!)”_

Everybody's cheering. Good, Mori Calliope thinks. The audience is liking their performance. Singing on a big stage was a new feeling, but also a challenge she was willing to overcome.

_“It's not enough just to see you every "once in a while"  
Searching in the darkness of my world for a smile, there's you!”_

She looks behind her for a moment, seeing her bandmates there playing alongside her. They look like they’re having fun, even the nervous wreck earlier that was Kiara started to look like she’s getting into it.

_“そろそろ (It's about time) Say "Goodbye, the end"  
I'm not sorry, but I wanna see you again sometime  
A song in my heart, a world of worry falling on your mind  
Why don't we leave it all behind?”_

They made it big after all. The album release was a huge success. Their social media numbers skyrocketed, and big names couldn’t wait to grab their first exposure to the bigger music world.

_“そろそろ (It’s about time) Say, "Goodbye"  
See you again, sometime  
La-duh-da-da-da-da-da~”_

It was only thanks to the help of her other band members that Mori was even able to stand here after all. In the eyes of thousands that shout their names. Fans from all across the country singing praises to the underground success that was the Shinigamis. She wouldn’t know where she’d be without her friends.

_“そろそろ (It’s about time) Say, "Goodbye, the end" (say goodbye)  
I'm not sorry, but I wanna see you again sometime  
A song in my heart, a world of worry falling on your mind  
Why don't we leave it all behind?”_

And so, she sings this special song dedicated to them. Because if not for these special people that decided to live their lives alongside her, she’d probably still be alone regretting her decisions and cursing herself. She also lingers on one of these people in particular. A girl with blazing fire in her eyes, who one day happened to run into her on the streets of Tokyo by chance. Maybe she should try to ask for her hand again after this?

_“A song in my heart~  
この瞬間が宝物  
(This moment is a treasure)  
「また君に会いたい」  
(“I want to see you again”)  
と言ったら、幸せ  
(I’m happy)  
Signing off~”_

Maybe she could find it in her heart to love the rapper once again? Mori thinks as the crowd gives them one loud cheer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _"Mortality's what makes a life sweeter to taste~"_
> 
> I thought you guys deserved it after getting through those last few chapters.  
> I didn't _want_ to be evil...  
> ;)


	16. I'll Sear The Days That I Spent With You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Calli wants to be in love again.  
> But does Kiara feel the same?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just one last chapter after this one.  
> I gotta admit, I never actually expected to get this far in so fast.  
> I had a lot of fun writing this story, even if it hurt me while doing so.  
> (I ship them too, okay?)  
> (╥╯﹏╰╥)ง
> 
> But that's enough from me. You wanted to know what happens next, right?  
> 

Mornings. The warmth calming and the light reassuring. A telling of new times to come. A reminder that the world keeps turning and time keeps passing. The events of yesterday now a memory, as the opportunities of today present us all with new moments just waiting to be seized. It’s poetic, isn’t it? As mortals, we reminisce the past, cherish the present, and look forward to the future. That’s just how humans are. Our time is limited, and so we find ways to make sure every second counts. It’s our limited time that makes us truly appreciate life after all. But sometimes, Takanashi Kiara wonders what it would be like to be more than just a mortal. What would it be like to be able to live forever? Would she still cherish the moments she has now, or would it not matter to her as it’ll only go away as quickly as it came due to living for eternity. Would she be able to love, even then? Why do we even love anyway? Some believe it’s a product of nature. We evolved to love so that we may form bonds that motivate us to keep each other safe and therefore ensure the survival of the species. But some also believe it’s because the gods granted us the ability. Whether we are modeled after them and their flaws, or intentionally given flaws so that we may never surpass them. Humans and emotion. They just go hand in hand. It changes us, causes us to do things we normally wouldn’t do, say things we normally wouldn’t say, and act upon desires we never knew we had. What would her life be like if she never fell in love with Mori Calliope? Would it be better? Worse? Who knows? It all happened by chance after all. The two could’ve just never met that one fateful day. If Kiara wasn’t distracted by the sights, she never would've been lost. If Mori was raised by her actual parents, she may never have lived in that area in the first place. It’s a funny thing – chance. You never know how many life changing things can happen to you because of chance.

At the rise of the sun, Takanashi Kiara wakes up on her bed in her 4th floor Tokyo apartment. It’s been a month now since she landed again here in Japan, and the living space has polished up a bit. Her recently acquired position in her job allowed her a couple of luxuries for the place. Better furniture for starters as well as a couple of decorative plants and other such items. She liked the place. It's starting to get more homely. Putting the thought aside for now, she gets up from her position and heads to the kitchen to make something for herself this morning, leaving her phone on the counter as if expecting something.

_***BRR BRR*** _

And there it was. The morning girl picks the device back up and sees another private message from Sydney asking how she’s doing. Smiling at the thought of childhood friend’s concern, she selects the video chat option and converses with the good friend. “Hey Syd!” She waves at the girl on the other side of the screen. “Morning! Oh, is it even morning anymore over there?” Kiara makes casual conversation.

“Oh, come on, Ki. Our countries are still on the same side of the Earth.” The girl with half-pink and half-blonde hair responds. “Australia’s not even that far ahead of you guys.” Sydney laughs a little. Kiara laughs back at the playful jab. “It’s been a whole month since you landed there, right? How’s work?” She asks the orange-haired girl.

“Really good, actually!” Kiara happily answers. “I’m assistant manager now, and if my boss has anything to say about it, I might even be moving up soon!” The fast-food worker informs her friend. “I’m this much closer to getting my own branch!” Kiara makes a gesture with her pointer finger and thumb slowly getting closer and closer. “Though that’s if I can keep up with band practice too.” She scratches her cheek.

“So, you really did help her out again, huh?” Her friend’s voice slightly lowers. “It’s not that I don’t trust you to make your own decisions, Ki, but that girl has pushed you around more than enough times for you to still be in close relations with her.” Sydney gives her friend a serious look. “Do you even still love her?” She asks Kiara a question that she’s tried to avoid answering. “You only agreed to help them out with their last song, didn’t you? Shouldn’t they be finding a replacement for you anyway?” Sydney was right. Kiara did only agree to that.

“At first, I wasn’t sure if I still loved her.” Kiara admits. “I thought about it a lot, and I think a part of me did want to love her again, but I was probably just childishly wanting to relive the moments we had.” The restaurant worker speaks what’s in her heart. “I made a big mistake all those years ago when I never told her I’d be leaving, and I think I just wanted to forget that I ever messed up like that by trying to get close to her again.” She says into the device in her hands. “I tried to forget, but she didn’t.” Her smile fades a little.

“But she also didn’t need to scream at you like that, you know?” Sydney replies. “It was her fault for being so stubborn that she ended up in that situation. Taking it out on you was totally uncalled for!” She was also right about that. “I’m not gonna make your decisions for you, Ki.” The childhood friend assures Kiara. “But if you really don’t feel anything for her anymore, you should think about how long you’re gonna keep being around her. I know you know her better than me, but unless there’s something driving you two to be together, I don’t think you should still be spending your days with her.”

_***BRR*** _

Kiara chuckles a little, causing Sydney to ask her why. “Oh yeah, that’s actually happening today.” Kiara smiles a little, then looks at her friend through the camera after dismissing her phone calendar’s reminder. “She actually wants to take me somewhere today.” Her childhood friend’s eyes widen. “Relax, I don’t think she means anything with it.” She reassures Sydney. “I think it’s her way of trying to thank me for helping with the band. It’s actually kinda cute. She’s never been the one to insist on going out like this.” She smiles.

“Is she taking the entire band?” Kiara shakes her head. “So, it’s a date?” Sydney points out, which makes Kiara jump a little.

“Oh, uh, no.” The assistant manager stutters a little, only making Sydney acknowledge it more. “She’s just being nice to me. She’s been like that recently. Trying to make up with both me and her bandmates. I’m sure it’s nothing special.” Kiara waves it off, but Sydney doesn’t believe her. “I’ve got some errands to run today!” Kiara conveniently remembers. “I-I’ll talk to you another time, Syd!” She waves at her childhood friend, who waves back with a grin before the camera turns off and the video chat ends. “Hehehe…” Kiara nervously laughs. This wasn’t a date, right?

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

“Hey.” Mori Calliope greets the orange-haired girl after taking off her helmet. “Are you ready?” She asks Kiara while pulling out a helmet meant for the foreign girl, who takes it. “Then hop on.” The lead singer gestures for Kiara to mount the motorcycle that Mori’s currently parked. It was the same one the rapper used to pick her up all those years ago.

“Where’ll you be taking me?” She puts on the spare helmet before hopping on. Mori’s been like this for about a few weeks now. Sometimes, the band leader would randomly approach her during and after practice and just say some random things like complimenting the way she holds her guitar then saying that she liked Kiara’s shoes, or just passing by her sometimes on these streets some mornings and then awkwardly looking in the opposite direction while mumbling some words too quiet for Kiara to hear. It was strangely adorable.

“You haven’t had lunch yet, right?” Mori Calliope asks her passenger, who confirms that she hasn’t. “Then we’ll be eating first. My treat.” She says, plain and simple. This totally wasn’t a date, right?

The ride didn’t take long. It was only about to turn mid-noon and the roads weren’t all that packed that day. That said, Kiara did find it strange that they were seemingly going in this specific direction because it’s the same path she walks every night. She was almost about to ask Mori before seeing exactly where the rapper was going to treat her. “Wait a minute.” Kiara immediately recognizes the place.

“We’ll stop here before continuing.” Mori parks the motorcycle before taking her own helmet off and looking at the establishment. If the pink-haired girl wasn’t so calm and talking so low, Kiara would probably be rolling in laughter right about now.

“This is…” Kiara also dismounts the ride at takes a look at the food place. “We’re eating here?” She asks Mori, who gives her only a serious nod.

“Why? I thought you liked the place?” Kiara wasn’t sure if the pink-haired girl was pulling a prank or was actually 100% serious because she could barely contain the equal amounts of confusion and desire to laugh within her.

“I work here!” Takanshi Kiara says as she points out the giant three letter sign of the fast-food restaurant that she’s the assistant manager of during the night shift. Mori then turns to face the employee turned customer of her own job with the most straight and joke absent answer Kiara’s ever heard.

“Yeah, so that means you like the food they make, don’t you?” Mori Calliope says with a completely serious face. That’s it. This totally wasn’t a date. No way a girl could be that clueless when trying to court someone. But Kiara had to admit, it was kinda adorable if Mori actually did think this would be a good place to take your date to.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Thankfully, the actual destination the rapper had in mind was a whole lot more interesting than being taken to eat at the place Takanashi Kiara literally worked at. “Wow!” The orange-haired girl marvels at the sight of both the temple and pagoda. “Sensō-ji Temple! I can’t believe I actually got to visit!” She looks around and takes in the sights. Two artistically constructed wooden structures of red and white. Asakusa’s famous tourist spot where one could see up close the Buddhist temple the place is known for as well as a five-story pagoda built adjacent to it. There were also several smaller structures built in the area matching the red wood and silver tiled style of Tokyo’s oldest temple. Droves of people could be seen walking under an archway and several small stalls selling various trinkets and knickknacks had groups of teenagers and adults alike wanting to buy something to remember the place by. It was something you’d definitely see in a Tokyo tourist spot.

“Yeah, it’s great…” Mori Calliope says under her breath. She wasn’t the biggest fan of crowds so she only just now realized what taking Kiara to a famous tourist spot would entail. That said, she also really wanted to do everything she could to try and repair her relationship with the orange-haired girl, even if it meant a couple hours of discomfort. “This place actually has some fascinating history, you know?” She walks up beside Kiara, who’s still busy just looking left and right to try and see everything all at once. “It was founded in 645 AD, making it the oldest temple here in Tokyo. During the second World War, it was actually bombed and then rebuilt after as a sign of peace.” Mori Calliope tells Kiara about facts she knew about the place (from a quick Google search and Wikipedia article) in an attempt to give the on-break fast food employee a good experience. She goes on for a while about this while closing her eyes to ignore the crowd and doesn’t even notice that the bright-haired girl actually already left her side, which was unfortunate timing because she keeps going in vain to tell exactly why she chose this place. “The temple was dedicated to Kannon Bosatsu, the Bodhisattva of compassion. I wanted to take you here to show y-” Cliché anime moment in 3, 2, 1… “Eh?” Mori Calliope opened her eyes.

Takanashi Kiara was nowhere to be seen. Panicking, Mori looks around her immediate area and checks the shops. Nope, she wasn’t buying something. Inside the temple? Nope, not there either. There’s no way she could’ve gone that far, right? That’s what Mori Calliope kept telling herself for about half an hour.

“Goddamit!” Mori Calliope curses as she now searches the outskirts of where the tourist spot starts to go back into normal Tokyo. If only she had to courage to have asked for the lost girl’s number by now, she wouldn’t have to deal with the amount of people turning to look at her every time she ran to another part of the place. But thankfully, she was eventually able to find a head of bright-orange locks among the crowd of nameless people. “There you are!” Mori Calliope finds Takanashi Kiara in front of a young girl on the side of the street selling flowers. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

“Huh?” The now found girl turns her head. “Oh yeah, Calli! I’m so sorry!” She bows her head and apologizes. “I totally forgot you were with me and got lost in the sightseeing.” Kiara confirms Mori’s earlier suspicions. “I was just about to buy a flower from this young girl. Look at them, Calli, they’re so pretty!” Mori turns to look at the young flower girl. She was young yet was on the street selling flowers probably to help her family, and she sold a familiar type of flower that Mori recognized. “What are they?” Kiara asks the flower girl.

“Hydrangeas.” Mori catches the attention of Kiara. “A Japanese flower that comes in many colors. Apparently each one has a different meaning, but I don’t know all that much about them.” Kiara’s eyes visibly light up at this.

“Wow, that’s cool!” Kiara says, which makes a little feeling surface inside Mori Calliope’s chest. “Which color do you like, Calli? I think I want the pink one.” The wandering girl tells the singer, who ponders the question for a bit.

“Blue, I think.” Mori answers. “Or actually, maybe the purple ones.” She tells Kiara. She didn’t know why she liked those colors, or why she was so opposed to picking the white ones, but she liked being able to converse casually like this with the girl from her past.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

It was getting late and Takanashi Kiara knew that Mori Calliope planned to end their ‘outing’ late in the afternoon, so she wasn’t surprised when she was led back by the rapper back to her motorcycle. She enjoyed herself. Mori taking her out to see the sights today was something she didn’t know she'd enjoy so much. There was only one question left on her mind, however. Was this supposed to be Mori’s attempt at a date?

“Hey, Calli.” Takanashi Kiara calls to her driver from the back of the ride. “I really enjoyed today. Thanks for taking me out.” That part was an honest admission from Kiara’s part.

“You’re welcome…” Mori Calliope softly says. Kiara could barely hear the girl over the wind rushing past them. “I’m glad you could enjoy it.” Her voice sounded pleased. Takanshi Kiara wasn’t a fool. She knew how people sounded when they were glad a plan meant for another went well. It’s how she felt all those years ago when she got Mori to confess that she enjoyed their dates together that Kiara planned.

“I’d love to go again sometime.” She tells the driver. “But I’m not so sure about it if you’d tell me you wanted to take me out on a date.” The motorcycle swerves a little but was quickly corrected. “Whoa!”

“D-date!?” Mori stutters. Bingo. “I d-didn’t think of t-this as a date!” Please Mori, you’ve already been tsundere with this girl for most of a year before. At this, Kiara leans a bit forward to whisper something to the rapper. “You want to go there first?” She asks Kiara, who confirms. “A-alright…” Mori speeds up a little, changing their destination.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

“Here we are.” Mori Calliope stops the motorcycle in front of a familiar karaoke place. “You said you wanted to stop here, right?” She asks Kiara, who dismounted the ride before her.

“Yeah, I wanted to tell you something.” Takanashi Kiara takes off her helmet, making a face to tell Mori Calliope that she wasn’t asking for this just because. She leads the two into the familiar place where they made so many memories before, greeted by their fellow band member at the counter.

“Well, it looks like you two went out somewhere today.” Enma greets her fellow Shinigamis and long-time customers. “The usual room, correct?” She asks, which Kiara nods to and pays for. “Enjoy.” She says as Kiara walks past her to the room first, giving Mori a wink after she does.

Mori Calliope is led to the same room she first took Kiara to all those years ago. She hasn’t been in it in years, and so was pleasantly surprised to see that the place hasn’t changed all that much. A couple of renovations here and there, but it was still the same place she decided she wanted to first try and open up to the girl she saved on the street all those years ago.

“I don’t know if I can love you again, Calli.” Takanashi Kiara states right there and with no hesitation, which makes Mori’s heart sink a little. “I loved you all those years ago. That much is true. I tried to love again when we met once more, but I’m not sure if I can still feel the same way as before.” She gives Mori a bittersweet smile. “I think I’m scared.” Kiara tells her first love from the past. “I’m scared of being hurt again. I’m scared it might end up bad again. That I might mess something up and we’d push each other away again” She continues. “I’ve made mistakes and believed in things I shouldn’t.” She looks like she wants to cry but looks Mori straight in the eyes. “But I think we both want to try again.” She brings up the topic Mori was hesitant to acknowledge earlier in their weeks of practice. “So, I’ll tell you how I feel with this.” She picks up the microphone. "Listen to me, please?"

Takanashi Kiara selects a track from the karaoke machine. Meanwhile, Mori Calliope was standing there in a mix of emotions at the words spoken by her first love from way back when. It’s true. She did want to try again and bring back the spark they had. It seemed Kiara also felt similar. But that doesn’t feel quite right.

https://youtu.be/NdMsvoPk2uo

As the soft playing of a piano signals the start of the song, both Mori and Kiara start to think about how they truly felt about each other. What were they now, anyway? Neither friends nor lovers, the two reflect on their innermost feelings.

_“Guraundo kaketeku anata no senaka wa  
(As you were dashing on the ground, your back)  
Sora ni ukanda kumo yori mo jiyuu de  
(Was freer then the clouds that floated in the sky)  
nooto ni naranda shikakui moji sae  
(And in the light that illuminates everything, I could even see)  
Subete wo terasu hikari ni mieta”  
(The square letters lined up in your notebook)_

On that street one Tokyo day, Takanashi Kiara met Mori Calliope.

_“Suki to iu kimochi ga wakaranakute  
(I didn't understand the feeling known as love)  
Nidoto wa modoranai kono jikan ga  
(So this moment in time that wouldn't return again)  
Sono imi wo atashi ni oshiete kureta”  
(Taught me its meaning)_

It started with Kiara pestering the annoyed Mori, but eventually turned into something much warmer. They learned to love each other, despite various differences.

_“Anata to sugoshita hibi wo kono mune ni yaki tsukeyou  
(I'll sear the days that I spent with you into my chest)  
Omoi dasanakutemo daijoubu na you ni  
(Even if I were to fall in love with someone else, someday)  
Itsuka hoka no dareka wo suki ni natta toshitemo  
(So that I'll be all right even if I don't recall them)  
Anata wa zutto tokubetsu de taisetsu de  
(You'd always be special and important to me)  
Mata kono kitsetsu ga megutteku”  
(And this season would come around again)_

Mori denied it at first. A cold girl who only wanted to be alone and keep to herself. She kept trying to tell herself that but couldn’t resist the other girl’s warmth.

_“Hajimete futari de hanashita houkago  
(When we first talked together after school)  
Dare mo shiranai egao sagashiteita  
(I was searching for your smile that no-one else knew about)  
Tookude anata no hashaideru koe ni  
(For some reason, my chest felt painful)  
Naze da ka mune ga itakunatta no”  
(To your cheerful voice far away)_

Their love was strong. Once the cold heart of the aspiring song artist started to open up, it felt like nothing could stand between the two lovers.

_“Kawatte yuku koto wo kowagatteta no  
(I feared changing)  
Zutto tomodachi no mama ireru kigashita  
(I felt that we could always stay friends)  
Owatteku mono nado nai to omotta”  
(I thought that there was no such thing as an ending)_

But as young love can often shift, the two were tested with circumstance. A devastating loss for one and a painful truth for the other.

_“Hateshinai toki no naka de anata to deaeta koto ga  
(Within the endless time, the fact that I was able to meet you)  
Nani yori mo atashi wo tsuyokushite kureta ne  
(Made me stronger than anything else)  
Muchuu de kakeru ashita ni tadoritsuita toshitemo  
(Even if I were to make a desperate run for tomorrow)  
Anata wa zutto tokubetsu de taisetsu de  
(You'd always be special and important to me)  
Mata kono kisetsu ga yatte kuru”  
(And this season would come about again)_

Takanashi Kiara wanted to leave something behind. In her fear for things to change, she withheld the fact that she was never meant to stay in the country for long. Unfortunate timing led to her bringing the sad news to a recently grieving Mori Calliope, devastated by the loss of her only family and now heartbroken by the departure of her first and only love. Unable to handle it, she lashed out. Just like that, a year’s worth of time and trust came crumbling down as both had flaws that rose to the surface. Kiara’s fear and foolish idealism that love would be safe no matter what and Mori’s unhealthy instinct to reject the presence of others in her life. How could they have known? It was only by pure chance after all.

_“Wasurenai to anata ga itte kureta natsu  
(Since the summer when you told me you'll never forget)  
Toki ga nagare imagoro atashi wa namida ga koboretekita”  
(Time has passed and just now, my tears came spilling down)_

However, 5 years later, the two met again. Setting off another journey of desire and drive. Victims of circumstance once again meeting by chance.

_“Anata to sugoshita hibi wo kono mune ni yaki tsukeyou  
(I'll sear the days that I spent with you into my chest)  
Omoi dasanakutemo daijoubu na you ni  
(Even if I were to fall in love with someone else, someday)  
Itsuka hoka no dareka wo suki ni natta toshitemo  
(So that I'll be all right even if I don't recall them)  
Anata wa zutto tokubetsu de taisetsu de  
(You'd always be special and important to me)  
Mata kono kitsetsu ga megutteku”  
(And this season would come around again)_

A love thought forgotten, Kiara wanted to run. At first away from the memories and then back towards them. Meeting new people along the way, the two once again embarked on a journey through human emotions. Mori never knew she’d meet her again. She wanted to reach out but realized that too late after forcing herself alone once again. However, through trial and tribulation, Kiara managed to survive. She persisted, refusing to let the fire within her die. Mori Calliope was saved by bright and radiant girl that burned down her walls and melted her cold heart. 

What was to become of them now? Both are scared to make another mistake. Both accept that what they once had cannot come back. It shouldn’t come back. However, maybe there was room in both of their hearts to start something new?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did not notice how long this ended up getting.
> 
> _Song: "Garnet" - Toki o Kakeru Shoujo (The girl who leapt through time) ED_  
>  Romaji and English lyrics sourced from animelyrics.com
> 
> If you've been observant of upload dates, that song was actually sang in the middle of me writing this fanfiction. Once I heard Kiara sing it and tell us about what the lyrics meant during the SC reading, I knew I just had to find a way to include it in this story because it's so fitting for both them and this story.
> 
> And so, next will be the final chapter and epilogue...


	17. Life She Warms My Soul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ****  
>  _Epilogue_   
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (For updates on what I plan to do next, check the status on this work's series page.)
> 
> **Edit:** I'm also starting to be more active on Twitter now, so if you maybe wanna hear from me sometimes on there, I go by the same name.

The sun shines low this Tokyo afternoon. Not as bright and not as warm as it would be in the morning. The leaves starting to turn from their verdant greens and pastel pinks into the orange petals of autumn’s fall as a new season falls upon the bustling country of Japan. One that people believe symbolizes change or the start of a new cycle. The death of the past and birth of the future. A melancholy in between two fundamental forces. A poetic justice woven and scripted by life and death. As while the wind starts to rustle the leaves of darkened shade, and the times start to change, inside a certain warm homestead, there moved a couple of individuals. People who’ve undergone change themselves, as none of them were the same as they were before.

“You sure you two’ll be alright with the rest?” A young man stands on the porch of a quaint wooden home, giving the older woman below the doorframe a look. “I’m alright with staying a bit longer, but if you two say you can handle it then I’ll just have to trust you, Sensei.” He tells the pink-haired woman.

“Thanks, Kokoro.” Mori Calliope gives her friend a wave, as the sun lowers further from its apex. “I really appreciate it, but we can handle it from here.” She looks behind her for a moment into the old and quiet home that she spent a significant part of her life in.

It’s been some months after the Shinigamis have debuted their first album. The band went from being an underground success story to gaining a steady and rapidly growing following in the country’s music industry. Cover Corp did well to spread their influence to as many ears who would be open to try the band’s unique flavor of music. Because of it, the once small-time independent band turned into a rising star in the music world, with many prominent figures in Japan even wanting to collaborate with the lead singer. Mori Calliope worked with Tsunomaki Watame once, a relatively new idol, on producing a single called “Cloudy Sheep”, further exposing more people to the rapper’s talents. Things were going really well for Mori Calliope, and she thanks all her good friends for allowing her to get this far.

“Yes, Sensei!” The drummer of the Shinigamis gives his leader a salute. “I’ll see you two another time. Tell my boss to up my pay, okay?” The young man turns around while giving the rapper a wave. That’s the third time this week he’s tried to get Mori to pester Kiara into giving him a raise after the future Tenchou’s most recent promotion. She guesses that when you’re close friends with someone on the path to becoming one of the fastest to climb the corporate ladder on her own, you’ll be tempted to try and pull at least some strings.

“Tell that to Kiara yourself you dolt.” She says in vain as the man’s already too far away to ever hear her. Mori liked her friendship with Kokoro, but at the same time she couldn’t help but be confounded by some of the things he sometimes says. They aren’t even charming like the jokes Kiara makes. “Ah, whatever.” And Enma wasn’t any better either. The older woman already left before it turned noon earlier. The manager helped them out a little bit in cleaning up the house but had to turn in early to handle things at the Hollow. Honestly, Mori was slightly thankful for it because the woman wouldn’t stop teasing her every hour to ‘get it on already’ with Kiara. “I’m gonna do it today, okay!” Mori says to no one other than herself. When Mori decided she wanted to try and make friends, she never expected there would be an annoying side to them as well.

Turning back around to look inside, Mori Calliope could see that they’ve made very good progress on cleaning the old house out. The dust that accumulated for years has been swept away, the rotted wood that was left with no one to tend to was either removed or cleaned out, the stains and other such discoloring were dealt with, and other improvements as well. Her old home has never looked better, and Mori was proud of it. She finally had the courage to make it up with her Sensei after all. All thanks to a certain orange-haired girl who also comes walking back into view.

“The bedroom’s been cleared out now too.” Takanashi Kiara walks up closer to the band leader. “I did everything I could, but the bed needs to go. There’s no fixing that sponge cake.” Mori chuckles a little at this. Kiara always knew how to make the girl laugh. “Oh, did Kokoro leave already?” Kiara asks her, which Mori nods to. “I guess it’s already that late, huh?” The guitarist of the Shinigamis walks out to the porch with Mori Calliope, who follows. “I still can’t believe it’s already half a year since I came back to Japan.” Kiara rests her arms on the railing. “Who knew I’d be playing for a band while also trying to run my own restaurant?” Mori hears her laugh a little.

“I still can’t believe you managed to get promoted that fast.” Mori joins her in looking out into the street. “Don’t you normally need at least a year to get as high up as you are?” She makes casual conversation with Kiara. She enjoyed this kind of talk. It wasn’t productive and neither was it progressing the skills she wants to work on, yet it always made a warm feeling rise in her heart.

“I’m just disappointed they still won’t let me change the name of the company!” Kiara visibly pouts. “I mean, come on! Can’t I at least have my own place be called Kiara’s Fried Chicken? Tell me why they won’t let me, Calli!” And here she goes again.

“Changing the company name is a much bigger deal than you’re making it out to be.” Mori was used to these types of tangents from Kiara by now. The restaurant manager dreamed big after all, and so was prone to voicing her own strong desires for her profession. “You’re talking about years, maybe decades, worth of history and legacies.” But she had to admit, she enjoyed this kind of interaction. “If you want that so bad, you’re probably better off starting your own place.”

“Calli!” Mori feels a sudden hug at her side, causing her to mentally jump a little. “You’re a genius! Why didn’t I think of that before!” Kiara tightens her embrace. Mori wasn’t sure if she liked the physical contact or opposed the mild discomfort of not being able to breathe.

“Guh!” She breaks free, getting away with only a slight reddening in the cheeks. “Don’t just do that without me knowing, geez!” Mori composes herself, but also sees Kiara frown a little. “Oh, uh, sorry. I didn’t mean to come off that harsh.” The rapper moves forward a bit to apologize. “It’s just…” She holds off on finishing that last part.

“Oh, it’s okay.” Kiara accepts the apology. She knew the singer didn’t mean any bad from it. She knew she’s trying her best to be less temperamental after all. “Just what?” It’s already been months since Mori first tried to open up to the people around her. In that time, she’s made significant progress in allowing others to open up to her and get closer to the former loner. That included Takanashi Kiara, who could tell that both of them wanted to do something about their awkward position as former girlfriends who’ve now gotten closer again. Kiara knew Mori still felt something about her, and she acknowledged that maybe she also wanted to start something again with the rapper, but both feel like they’re walking on a loose tightrope where one mistake that either can make would once again ruin what they have.

“I…” Mori tries to say what’s on her mind. “I still…” She breathes in, inhaling and exhaling to calm herself down. “You know I still have feelings for you, don’t you?” She brings up the topic the two generally avoided. “I know you said you also wanted to try again, and see if we could maybe start anew as friends first, but…” She goes on. “But I still feel a lot of things when you go and do stuff like that…” The pink-haired girl admits. “I know you don’t mean to do it, it’s just that I can’t help if I’m still in love with you…” She brings up the special word.

“Yeah, I get it…” Takanshi Kiara admits. “I know what I said at the Hollow all those months ago. I didn’t lie about that.” She brings up the time she said that she also wanted to try again. “I know I feel at least some of what you feel too. I know part of me wants to try again as well.” She puts a hand over her chest. “I know we can’t bring back what we had all those years ago. We’ve both changed too much for us to ever go back to that.” A short pause. “It’s not that I don’t want to try something and get somewhere. It’s just that I’m still scared to mess things up…” Kiara admits. “What if I do something bad again? What if you can’t handle it one day again? What’s there to guarantee it won’t happen again?” A few tears start to appear in her eyes. “We’ve changed, but I don’t think that means that we won’t face those kinds of things again if we were to start something new…” The water starts to flow down her face.

“I feel the same.” Mori says as she moves closer. The two face each other, only centimeters apart. “I’m scared of myself too…” She admits. “I tried to change. I want to change for the better, but there’s no guarantee I won’t act like that again should times get tough.” She acknowledges her own demons. “I want to believe I won’t. I think I’m capable enough to know how to stop myself. But I wish I could say for certain that I absolutely won’t make it happen.” She considers opening her arms for a hug but decides against it. However, Kiara’s head leaning on her chest leads her to consider otherwise.

“I want to be able to say that I want to love you too…” Mori could hear her sobbing softly. “I want to say it the same way you can…” And at that, Kiara could feel a warm embrace attempting to comfort her. It felt nice. “It isn’t fair. I know it’s not entirely your fault that I’m scared…” Her head shakes. She’s crying now. “I’m just afraid that we don’t know what’ll happen if we do try…” Then Mori realizes something.

“We don’t know. It’s as simple as that.” Kiara stops shaking for a moment. She’s listening. “Just like how we don’t know exactly where we’ll be many years from now.” She says what she knows in her heart. “We can say that we can try and work as hard as we can to make things look certain, but you’ll never know when something somewhere will come in and mess everything up.” She softly tightens her embrace. “What I do know is one thing. We can have faith that it'll be okay. We'll be okay.” Mori tells Kiara what she believes.

“But what if I mess up again? What if I do something stupid and I hurt you instead? What’s there to say that we’ll still be okay after that?” Doubt takes Takanashi Kiara’s mind. Guilt from her past shortcoming still haunting her.

“Then we’ll hope we’ll be strong enough to make it past that and believe we can work it out. Together.” Mori Calliope loosens her embrace to let the sobbing girl lift her head. “I don’t know the future. I can’t say we won’t have problems along the way.” She tells the girl the thoughts that ran through her head in the years she spent forcing herself to be alone. “But I know one thing. I believe we’re strong enough to make it out of it. Whatever happens, what we are is enough that I can hope we’ll make sure that we’ll try to make it work.” She lifts her hand to wipe a tear still on Kiara’s cheek. “You showed me things can change. It’s you who proved to me that people are strong. You’re the one that showed me we can hope for things to work out and change for the better.” Her eyes were beautiful, Mori thinks. “If it wasn’t for you, I don’t know where I’ll be. I believe in you. I have faith you’ll still be as strong as you are now. I know you’ll try your best to make sure you won’t fall again, and I’m willing to be there with you to see it through.” Kiara stays silent, intently listening to what Mori has to say. “You, Kiara, are wonderful. You’re the most beautiful, radiant, bombastic, energetic, honest, true, real, and caring person I’ve ever met. I’m scared too, but I know that with you, I can learn to let go of that fear and take that risk again. We’re better people now. If we never changed, then maybe I’d also be doubting this, but as we are now, I’m confident that we can make this work! I love you!” And there it was.

“You really think so?” Kiara gives a soft smile. Her fears being pushed to the side as Mori’s own fire warms her heart. “You really think we can love each other again and make it work?” She also wants to believe.

“I know we can, and I’ll tell you just like how you told me!” Mori takes Kiara’s hand and leads her back into the house, moving past the living room and into her old bedroom. She seats Kiara there for a moment and leaves for a second to grab something. When she comes back, Kiara sees that she picked up her Sensei’s old guitar. Grabbing a seat from her old desk, Mori Calliope sits at the center ready to perform for Takanashi Kiara. “I know I’m still not as good as you with this thing, but I’ve been trying to learn it too while we’re on our break. You haven’t said how long you’ll be staying with the band, so I wanted to make sure I could handle at least some part should you ever choose to go do something else.” Mori reveals her own fear that Kiara might just decide to leave her again. “I know I can’t force you to try and love me again, and neither can I force you to be convinced to stay and play with us as a real member, but I hope you’ll at least consider it.” Please stay, Mori thinks. “So, just like how we did it before, allow me to sing you one more song? To tell you how I feel.” She asks, which Kiara silently nods to.

And so, Mori Calliope sings a little song. A special perfomance meant only for Takanashi Kiara. A singular moment meant only to be shared with the person she wants to live her life with. She hopes that her words reach the girl still afraid.

https://youtu.be/2-GXzg0IIbY

_“When the world gets too heavy, put it on my back  
I will be your levy  
You are taking me apart, like bad glue  
On a get well card”_

Mori tells Kiara everything she feels in her heart.

_“It was always you falling for me  
Now there's always time calling for me  
I'm the light blinking at the end of the road  
Blink back to let me know”_

Please stay. Please believe that we can start something new. Have faith that we’re enough as we are now to make it. Know that you can love me as much as I love you. All thoughts that Mori prays Kiara would also believe.

_“I'm a fly that is trapped in a web  
But I'm thinking that my spider's dead  
Lonely, lonely little life  
I could kid myself in thinking that I'm fine”_

I love you, so please know that you can love me too.

_“It was always you falling for me  
Now there's always time calling for me  
I'm the light blinking at the end of the road  
Blink back to let me know”_

I can’t guarantee we won’t get hurt, but have faith that we can make it out together.

_“That I'm skin and bone  
Just a king and a rusty throne  
Oh, the castle's under siege  
But the sign outside says, "Leave me alone"”_

I don’t know if I can live without you, so please know it’s alright to love me too.

_“It was always you falling for me  
Now there's always time calling for me  
I'm the light blinking at the end of the road  
Blink back to let me know  
It was always you...”_

You’re strong. Stronger than me. I can’t hope to be as good as you, so believe in me when I sing that it’s you who should be able to believe. That’s what you taught me. Please believe it too. It’s always you who shines bright. I just hope you’ll allow me to stay near that light. Because I’m scared to go back to the dark and be alone again…

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

As Mori Calliope finishes her song, Takanashi Kiara couldn’t help but cry. So, this was how she felt? She truly believes that they’ll be okay. Mori sings true. She believes in the two of them. She thinks that they’re strong enough to make it now. Kiara wants to believe it too. Oh, does she want to believe it too...

“Hey, Calli.” Kiara calls out to the singing girl, who jolts in response to her voice, obviously waiting for an answer waiting to be given. “Close your eyes for me, will you?” She asks the singer.

“Close them?” Mori was confused. Did she not want to see her leave? Is this it? “Okay then…” If this was it, then there was nothing left she could say. She’s spoken everything on her mind and tried her best to convince Kiara to stay. If this was the end, then she has to accept it. So, she closes her eyes, expecting Kiara to finally walk away.

But that never came to be. As soon as she could hear Kiara stand up and start to walk, she accepted that she’ll be left behind. Yet, when she felt the soft warmth of the other girl’s lips on hers, she opened her eyes to see that she was still there, kissing her. Warm, pleasant, and lifting away all her concerns. The kiss only lasted for a second, yet it felt like an eternity in the cold was suddenly swept away as the warm presence of a fire burned her worries away.

“W-what?” Mori pulls back a little. She was surprised after all, getting her first kiss taken like that. “K-Kiara!?” She blushes, hard. In all her time spent with the orange-haired girl, neither actually had the courage to go and kiss the other just like that. “I- uh- w-what h-huh!?” Mori broke.

“HA↙HA↙HA↙!” Kiara laughs, teasing the flustered mess. “You’re just so cute, aren’t you Calli?” Kiara chuckles and tries to hide her own hard blushing. Mori was about to ask exactly what she meant by that, but the romantic beat her to it. “I’d love to.” She smiles, warmly. “If you’ll take me.” Mori was stunned.

“U-uh…” Mori Calliope still couldn’t believe what happened. She’s supposed to be happy right now, right? “Yeah!” She shouts, randomly. “I mean, of course! Please!” She continues being a dorky mess.

“HA↙HA↙!” Kiara thinks the reaction was funny. “Thanks, Calli." She voices her gratitude for the rapper. "I guess I was just so scared for what can happen that I didn’t think about what we can do to try and make sure it doesn’t.” She leans and helps the flustered mess up from her chair and takes her hands. “Yes, I’m willing to believe in us too.” She looks her love in the eyes. “So, Mori Calliope, will you be the one asking me the question?” Kiara grins a sinister smirk.

This fucking chicken. “Fine…” Mori says, covering her mouth, still recovering. “Takanashi Kiara…” She prepares to say it. “Will you…” She pauses a little. “go out…” Come on, you can do it. “with me?” Clap, and then Mori feels a quick peck on the cheek, sending her into another panic.

“Yes!” Kiara hugs the girl before she falls over. “Of course, I will.” She tightens her embrace, and the other girl hugs her back. The two stay like this for a while, enjoying each other’s touch. While both may not know what’s in store for them in the future, what they do know is that they’re both willing to give it a try as they start anew and learn to love each other once more.

And as the first autumn leaf falls, signaling the start of a new season, so too do two girls under a setting sun accept the changes around them. For neither of them is the same as they once were. Takanashi Kiara was no longer the young and in love girl who got lost on the street one day and Mori Calliope was no longer the loner who forced herself to accomplish everything alone. No, they were more than that now. They’ll probably keep growing past that too. Because such is love and life. Nothing in this world is for certain, not even its most powerful forces. Everything has an end, and most things are subject to change. However, there are some things worth changing for. Whether it’s making yourself believe in things you didn’t believe in before or accepting that some things won’t stay the same. That’s how it is to love as mortals. It’s our shortened time that allows us to enjoy every little thing. And so, that’s how the story of Mori Calliope and Takanashi Kiara ended and started anew. A burning love tested by circumstance. Two hearts, different yet the same. We leave them on this part of their lives, for we are but mere observers of a story far too big for us to fully know. What would become of them in the future? Only time can truly tell, and what’s so wrong with that?

“I love you, Calli.” Takanashi Kiara tells her girlfriend.

“I love you too, Kiara.” Mori Calliope tells her back.

  
__  
**-=-=-=- END -=-=-=-**  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Song: "Always" - Panic! At The Disco_
> 
> Thank you for reading Dead She Beats My Heart  
> 17 chapters, 45k words, and all~
> 
> You have reached the end of this story.  
> I thank you, truly, for taking the time to appreciate a small passion project I decided to write one day.  
> <3
> 
> **Dead She Beats My Heart Full Soundtrack Playlist:**  
>  https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPCwCoLIIdJ8Z6Q-zYwOoDpcohi_CE3zv


End file.
